


Made to be yours

by whataboutmyfries



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 22,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24181987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whataboutmyfries/pseuds/whataboutmyfries
Summary: Soulmate AU where anything you write on yourself shows up on your soulmate's skin.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

It was a cold autumn evening and harry potter did NOT want to get out of his impossibly comfortable bed. 

They had arrived at Hogwarts a few hours ago and Harry had tried to get a few minutes of sleep with the nightmare, it was a miracle 

"I am sooooooo not getting out of bed today" grumbled harry. just as he was getting cozy again, Ron started shaking his shoulder violently, 

"Oi, Harry, get up we're gonna miss Dinner." "Ugh, Ron! Leave me alone!" Harry grunted, trying in vain to fall back asleep.

"Well, now that you have so effectively woken me up, we might as well eat," Harry said as he got up stretching out his deliciously toned (and half-naked) body he had acquired over the holidays. 

"Well get a move on mate! It's our first night as eighth years! don't want to miss out. Oi! put some clothes on!" said Ron, throwing Harry's T-shirt at him.

It was after the war, everyone was trying their best to go on as normal. It was small moments of normalcy like this that helped Harry keep his sanity. 

As he woke up, the crushing burden of being the savior of the wizarding world fell on his shoulders and he slumped, the bags under his eyes showing just how much worse the night treated him. 

As Harry walked down to breakfast, he thought once more about his mate. He was bisexual, and that made his search so much harder, knowing it could be anyone at Hogwarts. The only clue he had was the strange clue he had gotten two years prior 

// flashback//

It was 6th year, harry was writing a potions essay with help from his secret - yet helpful - potions textbook that belonged to the 'half-blood prince'. bloody hell, the prince was a genius, now starting to become a major point of interest for harry.

just as he was about to flip the page, he felt something on his arm. He knew from some inbred instinct, that this meant that his mate was writing something on their arm.

Harry was ecstatic.

But when he looked down and saw the dark mark appear on his arm, he was shocked beyond belief; to say the least. How could his soulmate, his one true love, his star crossed lover, do this to him? How? 

And the bigger question was, 

Why?

Harry shook his head, trying to shake the memory out of his place in his head. He may have been broken, but he was going to find his mate this year, he was sure of it. 

He straightened his tie as he walked into the great hall, his eyes instantly finding Ron and Hermione waving at him, Ron's face already filled with the delectable feast the elves had cooked for them.

He grinned and went to sit down with them, as his eyes fell on a certain blonde Slytherin he had come to have feelings for; 

Malfoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry's eyes settled onto Dra-Malfoy as he gave him a sweeping look peeling him down to his core.

Draco seemed to have become a completely new person over the holidays, finally choosing to leave behind that ridiculous helmet of gelled down hair, opting instead to leave it loose and messy. It looked soft, and all Harry wanted to do was bury his hands in it and bring Draco's soft, luscious pink mouth to his. He looked like he hadn't slept for weeks, what with bags under his eyes, and cheeks so hollow you could brew a potion in them. Draco looked a right mess he did, but somehow, even through all that, Harry still thought he looked.........beautiful. 

Just as Harry was about to turn his head away, Shimmering quicksilver eyes met his. Harry could not move. He was stunned at the hurt and pain and remorse swimming behind those pools of moonlight. Draco still held his stare, unwavering. Harry blinked, Draco looked away. Harry would've sworn he had imagined the whole thing if it wasn't for the soft smile playing on Draco's lips as he turned to greet his friends. 

"What was that mate?" Ron asked through the boatload of food in his mouth. 

"What do you mean?" returned Harry, trying to hide a chuckle at the sight of his friend. 

"That staring contest that you had with that git Malfoy." Ron spat, accidentally covering his plate with pieces of chewed up eggs, causing Hermione to grimace and spell them away. 

Harry blushed a deep crimson, quickly averting his gaze in favour of looking down at his plate instead. "It was nothing, just scoping out the competition for the year" Harry replied, quickly putting some bacon in his mouth so he wouldn't have to bear with Ron's infernal questioning. 

Ron grunted and went back to eating his dinner, nodding with approval. 

"How are you feeling Harry?" asked Hermione tentatively, being the only person knowing about Harry's bisexuality and severe PTSD that he seemed to have contracted through years and years of abuse from the Dursleys

"Mfph?" Harry grunted, looking up from the food he was currently shovelling into his face.

"Did you sleep well?" Hermione asked, giving him a look. 

"Ummmm..... yeah, sure, let's go with that," Harry replied, finally managing to swallow the large lump of potatoes he had been struggling to get down 

"Harry, this is not healthy, you have only just managed to get some semblance of control over your 'thing' you can't afford to relapse when you're doing so well!!" Hermione said keeping her voice low so only Harry could hear. 

"I know," Harry sighed. "I still write to my therapist regularly though," he said attempting to be optimistic about the situation.

"Fine," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "But you have to promise me tha-"

she was cut off by Headmistress McGonagall standing up to give her speech. 

"Students of Hogwarts, we are pleased to welcome you back for another year of Magic and Magical Education. First and foremost I would like to give my condolences for those of you who lost family and friends in the war last year, you were too young to experience such tragedy."

Some sniffles went around the hall and Harry could see people hugging and sobbing.

"I would also like to welcome our former seventh years back to school as eighth years. Welcome. Eighth years, you will all be sleeping together in a separate dormitory and will be sharing a common room. The rest of the years will go about as normal staying in the dormitories of whichever house you are sorted into."

A few gasps of surprise and outrage occurred at that causing a range of death glares to be directed at the Slytherin table, noticing this, McGonagall continued, 

" This year, we have deemed unity between the houses as one of our foremost priorities and you will treat it as such. Failure to do so will result in points being taken from your house."

looking down sternly at her students she went on,

"Taking into consideration the trauma you have experienced, we have also recruited a team of therapists for you to talk to whenever you need to. Mr. Vincent, if you would like to say a few words"

So saying, Mcgonagall stepped aside to allow a middle-aged wizard with a kind smile to address them all. 

"Hello everyone, My name is Vincent Sutton and I would just like to tell you all that my door is always open for anybody who needs it. My office is on the third floor. You can come at any time you wish. If you cannot sleep at night and simply want a cup of tea, you are welcome to come down and relax and have a hot cuppa. If you want somebody to talk to with that tea, you can call, and I will be there. So feel free to come over whenever you like."

Mr. Vincent smiled warmly at them all and went to sit down,

"Thank you, Mr. Vincent. Now we are pleased to welcome a fresh batch of first-years to Hogwarts. Hope you all have a wonderful year. Now let the sorting begin." Professor McGonagall finished her speech, raising her goblet in salute before resuming her place at the table.

。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。

hey guys! I know how boring these first few chapters are but I'm just trying to establish the context of the rest of the story. I hope you guys hold on and keep reading !! please comment I would love to know what you think of the story :)


	3. chapter 3

Trigger warning-self harm, corpses, PTSD

He was back in Hagrid's arms but they weren't as warm as he remembered. He opened eyes slowly, taking in the carnage before him. Voldemort standing over a sea of dead bodies, Ron's unseeing eyes staring right at harry from Voldermort's feet. As he looked around, he realized everyone he knew, everyone he loved, was dead. All of a sudden, the avalanche of corpses sat up, looking like inferi, their eyes dead and void of emotion they all looked at Harry as one. And in a screeching cacophonous voice, they cry out, It's all your fault. Walking slowly over to Harry as his eyes brimmed with tears and spilled over. "I'm sorry!" he screamed "I never meant for you to die I'm sorry!" he kept screaming as he drowned in the barrage of corpses coming at him with a thirst for reprisal."

Harry woke up, drenched in cold sweat, tears flowing down his face as he started to cry in earnest. Trying and failing to stifle his sorrow, Harry found himself releasing his emotions the only way he knew how. He walked to the bathroom as if in a trance, and removed the glamour he had cast on his forearms. With the glamour no longer in place, Harry took a blade and slashed ruthlessly at his arms, eventually collapsing on the bathroom floor with great heaving sobs tearing his body apart.

｡.:*☆.｡.:*☆.｡.:*☆.｡.:*☆.｡.:*☆.｡.:*☆.｡.:*☆.｡.:*☆.｡

After Harry had cleaned the blood off of himself he couldn't find it in himself to go back to sleep. so he chose to go down to the eighth year common room instead, deciding he would have a nice cup of tea once he got there.

As Harry finished making his tea he turned around to find someone sitting in his favorite chair, the one closest to the fire. Miffed, Harry decided to ask them to move, realizing only once he got closer that the person sleeping on the chair was, in fact, a platinum blonde Slytherin. 

Seeing Malfoy, all the anger in Harry instantly went soft turning into something he couldn't quite put his finger on. As he got closer and closer, he realized that the Slytherin had been crying, with tear tracks making their way down his cheek.

The boy looked so beautiful when he was sleeping, the firelight dancing over his pale features, making them look less severe than they usually did. He was laying on the chair with both legs over one armrest and his head over the other, his luscious locks strewn around his head making him look like an angel. 

He looked so beautiful, all Harry wanted to do was hold him and run his fingers through Draco's snowy hair. He sighed and turned around to look for another chair as he heard a soft cry behind him. 

As he turned he saw Draco's face contorted in Anguish. Curling in onto himself he was saying something, as Harry go closer he realized what Draco was keening,

"Harry.......Harry no....I'm so sorry...... This is all my fault... I'm so sorry..... Please come back....."

Harry could only stare for a few seconds his jaw hitting the floor at what he had just heard. Then he saw the torment and malaise in Draco's beautiful face and sprung into action, putting his tea down on a table and running over to where Draco was sleeping. 

"Draco, DRACO! get up, get up! it's just a dream Draco. I'm right here!"

As Draco writhed in agony beneath him, Harry decided to try a different approach. He grabbed Draco's thin wrists and pulled the blonde into his chest bringing the taller boys hunched frame into his. 

"Shhhhh...It's okay Draco I'm right here everything's alright." Harry whispered. 

Suddenly, Draco woke with a start, jolting himself out of Harry's arms. His eyes went wide, the sterling pools brimming with despair and terror. He whipped his head around as if trying to assure himself that what he saw in his head was truly just a trick of his mind and not reality.

All of a sudden, Draco's pearly eyes met Harry's troubled ones. 

"Harry" Draco breathes, as tears start rushing down his cheeks

Draco threw his arms around the taller boy, Malfoy stoicism be damned, he couldn't believe this beautiful boy was here in front of him when he had been so brutally murdered in his head mere seconds ago. He crushed Harry's warm figure into his, hands fisting in the back of the boy's jumper, holding on tight to assure himself that the gorgeous boy before him was truly here. truly present. truly holding him

Harry's viridian eyes widened in shock as Draco clutched him sobbing softly into his Gryffindor jumper, whispering his name. Harry's arms went slack at his sides, not believing that this boy he had fallen for was here in his arms. Eventually, he brought his arms around Draco holding on tight.

"Hush Draco. I'm here now, I'm not going to let you go" Harry whispered, dropping featherlight kisses on the blonde's head 

"I'm here now and I'm never letting you go."


	4. chapter 4

Draco didn't know what to do about his current situation. He was wrapped in the strong, warm embrace of the boy he had loved for years. On one hand, he didn't want to let go, but on the other, he still had to face his dilemma. 

At the moment, The Boy Who Lived To Annoy Draco had his arms around him, and his nose nuzzled in Draco's hair, simply inhaling his scent. Draco didn't even want to breathe so as not to shatter the moment, much less leave and sleep in his bed. He just crushed his arms around pot-harry harder and revelled in the Gryffindor's warmth.

"Thanks, Harry" Draco sniffed, the sound muffled by harry's jumper.

"I'll always be here, Draco" Harry murmured, the deep sound of his voice reverberating through Draco's body, filling him with a warm feeling of safety, comfort and.............Home.

Draco pushed away from Harry, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his emerald jumper. 

"Maybe let's not be enemies this year, yeah?" Draco asked, attempting a weak smile.

"I thought you'd never ask." Replied Harry, giving Draco a smile that could light up all of Hogwarts like it was Christmas time.

｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡

Pretty soon, it was Christmas time, the shining snow making the world a winter wonderland.

Harry Potter was still looking for his mate. The cold, cuddly season seemed to bring out all the couples. Harry could barely get to potions without running around a corner and bumping into two people locked in a passionate embrace. 

Speaking of potions, after the demise of the former professor, Slughorn had returned to teach the subject. The war hadn't changed the man at all. he was still the jovial chubby man he always was, though now he was always sporting bleak circles under his eyes.

Harry was knackered and on top of that, he was pissed. He had tried so bloody hard to find his mate to no avail. Harry reached the dungeons and plopped down next to Ron in a huff.

"What's up, mate?" Ron asked, giving harry a once over.

At the mention of the word mate, harry instantly perked up, realising almost instantly who was talking to him, he grimaced.

"Sorry Ron, just a little off today. I'm completely zonked, and hungry." Said Harry, attempting to play the situation off.

"Me too mate. Me too." Grinned Ron and went back to whatever the hell it was that he was doing.

Harry, meanwhile was too busy looking for Malfoy. Just as he finally set eyes on the attractive blond, Professor Slughorn waltzed into class with a cheery greeting, stopping mid-step as he looked at the students with a frown.

"Now now, this just won't do. You children survived a war! would it kill you to sit with somebody from another house?"

the teenagers looked at each other with confusion and nervousness.

"Well, that does it. I'm giving you lot places, and that's where you will be sitting for the rest of the year. So, obviously, the person sitting next to you will be your partner." Said the old wizard, proceeding to put the adolescents into an order he saw fit; making sure that no two students from the same house were put together.

Harry to his shock and happiness, was put with Malfoy. The boys smiling at each other as they took their seats.

"Don't you dare fuck with my O in potions Potter" Draco said smirking slightly, though his tone lacked the venom that was usually behind it.

"Only if you don't act like a prat Malfoy" Harry shot back with a smile.

"Boys! pay attention!" Slughorn chastised turning around to magic the instructions onto the board.

｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡

Draco was in the library trying so very hard to study. He had to write a 4-foot essay for transfiguration but for some reason, he simply couldn't get himself to focus. He sighed and dropped his head onto his arms, groaning. 

"Fucking death eater cant deal without Voldemort here to take care of it for him" someone sneered as they walked past him.

Draco's head shot up looking around him for whoever said that. He saw someone hurrying into the distance he got up to follow them, simply to see who it was, hoping to avoid them in the future. Just then he was yanked roughly behind and a large shelf. He tried to scream, but his assailant had a hand over his mouth stifling his cries before they could leave his throat. 

"What do you think you're doing at Hogwarts you scumbag? you don't deserve to be here." His assaulter growled, causing a great sob to escape Draco's throat before he could stop it. It appeared as though his attacker had an invisibility charm on him because it seemed that Draco was being assaulted by thin air. The offender forced Draco to his knees and slammed his fist into Draco's sternum. Draco groaned in agony as what appeared to be steel-toed boot rammed itself into Draco's ribs

again 

and again 

and again

until his vision faded to black.


	5. Chapter 5

Draco awoke to a spinning head and a stomach rolling with nausea. It looked as though his assailant had thrown some sort of a cloaking charm over him too, he was kicking a bookshelf, but people a mere 300 metres away from him couldn't hear a sound.

He tried to take a breath, but instantly winced in pain, a sure sign he had broken a couple of ribs. He tried to get up but his arms wouldn't respond to his brain. And as he lay in the dark, abandoned corner of the library, a gut-wrenching sob tore its way out of his chest. The boy lay there, unable to move, unable to speak, and screamed for anyone, anyone, to save him.

｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡ ｡.☆.｡

Harry was sitting by the lake, having a fag and enjoying the solitude when suddenly he doubled over in pain and explosion of agony blooming just over his gut. He had barely gotten his breath back when two swift hits had him seeing stars. 

Every heartbeat sent a surge of pain through him. He knew, from a deep-rooted instinct, that this was simply a mellowed form of the torture his mate was going through. Suddenly, he felt a sharp tug in his gut, pulling him....somewhere. Harry's legs seemed to have a mind of their own, as he got up and started walking rapidly to the castle. 

All of a sudden, a strangely familiar voice screamed in his head, "If anyone can hear me, please PLEASE, I'm begging you, please save me." The sheer agony and anguish in the voice had tears rolling down Harry's cheeks. 

Harry's legs, it turns out, had not failed him. When he finally snapped out of it, he was standing in front of the library doors, the tugging in his navel growing stronger. He walked in and somehow landed up at a dark abandoned corner of the library. He looked around himself, confused until he heard a soft groan coming from further in the dark. 

Warily, he went to investigate, when he saw a familiar blond head laying on the floor, surrounded by blood.

"Draco!" Harry screamed, alarms going off in his head left right and centre. Every fibre in Harry's being was in full panic, in intense distress for the boy he loved. Harry fell to his knees and cradled Draco's head in his lap. 

"Please Draco, please get up. Do it for me." Harry whispered, lips buried in Draco's bloody hair. Having heard Harry's scream, a crowd of people had gathered around him. as soon as they saw what was happening , people immediately went off to get help. 

Harry's heart was cracking and splintering in his chest as he held Draco's soft head. Harry wished it was him instead, he wished he could've taken the pain for Draco when suddenly, a soft groan escaped Draco's bleeding lips. 

"Harry?" Draco rasped, looking up at the raven-haired boy, Lungs and back screaming in agony. 

"Oh my god Draco, you're awake oh my god, I thought I lost you. Everything's going to be okay; I promise everything will be just fine." Harry rushed, eyes gleaming with relief and sorrow. 

"somebody's gone to get Madam Pomfrey. She should be here any second now." Harry told Draco, praying for her to get here faster because it looked like Draco was going to pass out again.

As though Harry's prayers had summoned her, Madam Pomfrey burst through the crowd, frantically looking around for her patient. Harry was already standing with the injured boy in his arms, the latter grasping onto the former for dear life. 

"Mister Potter, that will not be necessary, I can easily levitate him to the infirmary. You risk doing more damage to mister Malfoy this way," said Madam Pomfrey, ushering them through the path she cleared in the crowd. 

Just as Harry was about to let her have her way, Draco spoke

"No," he said hoarsely. "Harry."

Harry looked down at the boy in his arms. 

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you Draco." He said uncertainly holding the boy as though he were made of glass.

"Harry." Draco said obstinately, which resulted in Harry carrying the snowy-haired boy to the hospital wing where he was forced to leave him behind, and return to his dorms, where dinner would be brought to him. 

Before he left though, Harry lingered by the pale boy's bed tentatively reaching out to run his fingers through Draco's hair before gently trailing his fingers down the other boy's cheek. Harry pressed a soft kiss against Draco's brow before he trudged back to his rooms feeling more tired than he had ever felt before.


	6. Chapter 6

Draco had spent a day in the hospital wing, and he was already bored stupid. Madam Pomfrey was nothing short of a miracle. Healing students in the blink of an eye. Draco honestly wondered how Hogwarts would survive without her. 

Miracle though she was, after Madam Pomfrey had healed all his injuries she had insisted quite sternly that he stay behind a day or two just to make sure he was completely healed. Draco had conceded, albeit grudgingly. 

Eventually getting tired of this eternal boredom, Draco had taken to drawing on himself. Drawing over the dark mark to make himself forget what he had done, Drawing large intricate patterns swirling over his fingers and palms just to relieve the anxiety living inside him. 

It wasn't as though he had forgotten about his mate, whoever that was. It was just that he had just assumed that after he had been such a horrible person, nobody could ever fall in love with him. And why would they? He was a liar and a murderer and he would be lucky if even one of his owns cousins would consent to marry him, much less the boy he had fallen for all those years ago.

He was a fool and an idiot if he believed that the boy who lived twice could ever return a fraction of the emotion he felt for him, but his traitorous heart liked to lead him to believe that the raven-haired boy could even be his mate. 

Just as he was going to follow that trail of thought, He was brought back to his senses by madam Pomfrey who had come to give him his medicine

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Harry was sitting in the eighth-year common room, having a fag when suddenly his left arm was covered in the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was an intricate cage of swirls and coils that somehow managed to look like it was delicate yet strong, almost like a certain Slytherin he knew. He was pleased and amazed at how talented his mate was. He hoped he could meet them soon. 

Thinking of Draco, Harry decided to go visit him. He quickly ran up to his bedroom and snatched a bunch of treats he had gotten from Hogsmeade the previous week. He then made himself look presentable and walked out of the common room, smiling at the thought of seeing Draco.

When he got to the hospital wing he saw Draco looking out the window with a sketchpad in his lap. 

He looked like an angel. The golden sunlight got caught in his snowy hair, making it look like he had a halo. His eyes filled with the light making them look like pools of mercury. The sunshine reflected off his pale face, making him look ethereal.

When he heard footsteps, he turned around. Seeing Harry, he smiled.

"Hey, Harry! I missed you!"

Harry's heart stopped in his chest at how beautiful Draco looked. Yet somehow he managed to swallow the lump in his throat and smile.

"Hey, Draco! I'm so sorry I didn't come visit earlier, I was figuring out........stuff."

By 'stuff' Harry meant that he had been trying to figure out what he felt for the Slytherin. He had come to the conclusion that he did, in fact, want to kiss the boy, be his boyfriend, whatever. The only problem was that he had no idea if Draco felt the same.

Harry went and sat next to Draco, as they spoke about nothing and everything, Harry Potter fell in love with this beautiful boy he thought was his sworn enemy. 

Just then Draco laughed particularly hard at something Harry had said and a lock of his blond hair fell forward. Harry couldn't help himself, he reached forward to tuck the awry strand back into its place when Draco caught Harry's wrist in a light grip.

"Harry.. wh- how what?" Draco stuttered looking down in shock and disbelief at Harry's arm.

"What Draco? Cat got your tongue? Just spit it out." Harry said smirking at the silver-haired boy, who was now starting to resemble a fish gasping for air.

Wordlessly, Draco brought up his own left arm to show Harry what he had drawn on it. Harry looked at it in wonder and awe. Eyes shining with happiness and love. He caressed Draco's arm, eventually finding his hand and twining their fingers together. 

Draco looked at the raven-haired boy playing with his fingers as he finally let his foolish heart sing free revelling in the fact that Harry was truly his mate. Harry tipped his head this way and that, as he examined every inch of ink on Draco's arm, his hair catching and reflecting the sunlight. Draco had always wanted to touch the unruly nest of locks on Harry's head, so he did; running his fingers through soft, black hair. 

The action caused Harry to look up at Draco. The amount of love behind the emerald irises almost caused Draco to kiss him right then and there. 

"So...Guess you're my mate then," Harry said softly giving the stormy eyed boy the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"Yeah, I guess so," Draco said, giddy with happiness.

For a while, all the boys could do was look at each other, simply to bask in the fact that they were literally made for one another. 

Draco's eyes couldn't help but look at Harry's luscious lips as he caught the bottom one with his teeth. They looked so so soft and all Draco wanted to do was kiss them.

And so he did.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry Potter was running on sunshine. The boy he loved was his. Really, truly his. And as Draco pressed his cold, soft mouth to Harry's; fireworks went off in his head chasing all thought out of his head. As he kissed him back, Harry wound his hand through Draco's platinum blond hair, the silky strands tickling his palms. This was bliss

Harry tilted his head forwards, deepening the kiss. Draco bit Harry's lip asking for entrance. The act caused Harry to groan and push his tongue into Draco's mouth. From then it was a battle for dominance, as Harry climbed onto the bed to straddle Draco, his forearms framing the blond's head. Harry pinned Draco's hands over his head, causing Malfoy to groan; the sound swallowed by Harry's wanting lips. 

They broke for air, resting their foreheads together, smiling like the lovesick teenagers they were. 

"Stay with me tonight?" Draco asked softly, not wanting to shatter the moment.

"I thought you'd never ask," Harry said, grinning.

Harry lay down next to Malfoy, kicking off his shoes and snuggling into the blanket. When Harry was comfortable, Draco curled into his side, head on Harry's chest, Harry's arm snaking around his shoulder, legs tangled together. 

"G'night Harry" Draco breathed. smiling softly

"Goodnight love" Harry mumbled.

And that's how the two boys slept the most peacefully they had in months.

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Draco was warm. Really warm. He was positively toasty, and he was loving it. Just then, he felt another body move against his, strong arms tightening around his chest and legs tangling further with his own. That's when he finally remembered all that had transpired the day before. 

He closed his eyes, fully content in his current predicament and pressed his lips to Harry's hair, breathing him in. 

Harry was out like a light, and it didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon. Just then, Madam Pomfrey walked in through the curtains around his bed. 

"Pray tell, Mister Malfoy, what is mister Potter doing in your bed?" the lady said, hands on her hips.

Draco silently brought a finger up to his lips. "please don't wake him up, he never sleeps so well, and he hasn't gotten up since we went to bed. This is the best he's slept since the war Madam Pomfrey, please let him stay." Draco begged; trying his very best to keep his mate by his side.

Madam Pomfrey looked down at the saviour of the wizarding world and noticing the matching (now fading) artwork on both their arms, her eyes softened a happy and mischevious glint replacing the sternness that lay there.

"Congratulations Mr.Malfoy. I'll leave you two be. You are free to go about school tomorrow." the nurse said, smiling down at the two boys and walking out of their little curtained corner, giving them some privacy.

Soft sunlight filtered through the gauzy drapes making Harry's face glow golden. Draco smiled softly at his mate, burying his smile in Harry's hair. He wished he could stop time and stay in this moment forever. He hummed softly rubbing small circles onto Harry's back. 

Harry shifted on Draco's chest, groaning and winding his arms around Draco even tighter. It seemed as though the soft, warm sunlight was coaxing Harry to get up as he blinked slowly, showing Draco those malachite irises he loved so dearly.

"Morning gorgeous," Harry said, his voice still raspy from sleep. Running his hand through Draco's hair he pulled the stormy-eyed boy tighter into his toned arms, dropping kisses where his face was buried into Draco's pale neck.

Draco chuckled softly playing with the soft hair at the nape of Harry's neck. He tugged softly, making Harry look into Quicksilver eyes once more. The love and adoration in them made Draco pull the raven-haired boy in for a long, soft kiss, that held more emotion than they could ever have conveyed through words.

"So...Mate, huh?" Harry whispered cupping Draco's warm cheek, running his quidditch calloused fingers along the Slytherin's sharp cheekbones. 

Draco smirked, running his hand in long luxurious stroked down Harry's back. 

"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you? I always hoped it was you, what with your bloody smile and your damn crow's nest" Draco said tugging gently at that nest as he said the words. 

"You? wait for me? I've pined after you for ages, bloody hell you with the hair and the...cheekbones. You're Draco sodding Malfoy, how couldn't I love you?" Harry said, propping his head up on an arm to look down at the taller boy. 

Draco chuckled snuggling closer into Harry, relishing the warmth coming from him. 

"Well, say what we tell the school that we're dating?" Malfoy said tentatively, not wanting to scare Harry. 

"Well.....obviously ferret, You're my mate, you're taken, and everybody should know," Harry growled getting possessive of the man he loved. 

Draco chuckled, caressing the darker man's cheek. "Of course love, whatever you want."

And that's how Draco and Harry stood outside the eight-year common room holding hands, trying to walk to breakfast together.

Harty's hand was shaking in Draco's steady one, as he took a shaky breath, trying his best to calm his nerves.

Draco looked at the ravenette 

"scared potter?" he said smirking.

"You wish."


	8. Chapter 8

Harry was petrified. Nobody but Hermione knew about his sexual predicament, and now he was outing himself to the whole school. 

Draco meanwhile, was the picture of elegance and grace. He stalked along the halls, baring his teeth at whoever dared look at them the wrong way. Feeling Harry's anxiety, he squeezed his hand reassuringly. Harry smiled up gratefully at the taller boy, squeezing back.

When they reached the door to the Great Hall, Harry sucked in a deep breath, somehow managing to look like the picture of indifference and confidence. 

"Ready?" Draco whispered, giving Harry a quick kiss.

"When I'm with you? Always." Responded Harry putting his hand around the blonde's waist, and throwing open the doors with a dramatic flair that made even Draco jealous. 

All of a sudden, all eyes were on them, people whispering as they looked at the two boys standing there, arms around each other. 

"Oh for god's sake," Draco muttered under his breath, suddenly tipping the shorter boy's chin so he could look at nobody but Draco, and kissed him full on the lips, sending sparks up and down Harry's skin. 

When they broke apart, Draco put an arm around Harry's waist, tugging him closer.

"This boy here is my mate. If anybody has an issue with it, keep it to yourselves, because we don't give a shit. That is all."

Draco's voice boomed over the silent hall as Harry blushed and put his head on Draco's shoulder proud and abashed at the same time that this bold, beautiful boy was his. 

At Draco's announcement, there were some wolf whistles and cheers from the people who had suspected their relationship. coins exchanged hands, and bets were lost and won. Harry chuckled as Dean handed his boyfriend, Seamus, a handful of galleons, grumbling something along the lines of coming out tomorrow and bloody arse. 

Harry tugged at the blond's hand, making the taller boy look down at him, eyebrow raised. 

"Wanna go sit at the Gryffindor table for breakfast love?" He asked, smiling "Badass boyfriends need food too you know."

Draco grinned at Harry nodding his head. "Oh shut it, you love me, potter." He said smirking at the boy he loved. 

The boys made their way to the Gryffindor table where jaws were laying on the floor as people stopped to stare mid-bite. It wasn't that they were homophobic, the wizarding world did not care about sexuality and such, unlike the muggles, and Harry had never been gladder that he was part of such a great community of people, it was just that they never thought the two boys who had hated each other so much, could ever be made for one another.

"Finally did it did you, Harry?" Said Hermione, grinning at the boy, a proud glimmer in her eye. 

"Couldn't have done it without you 'Mione. Thank you for everything." Harry said giving his friend a hug. 

Just then, he felt Draco shift in his chair under the weight of all the stares coming his way from the Gryffindors he had terrorized for so long. Harry put a calming hand on his mate's thigh nodding slightly at the Slytherin. 

Draco squeezed his hand in response and cleared his throat. 

" I just wanted to tell you all that I am so very sorry for all the terrible things I have done to you over the years. I know I've been a right arse, but I have changed since the war and I truly regret everything I have done. I know it is unforgivable, but I would like to make it up to you in any way I can." Said Draco, looking down at his plate, unable to meet anybody's eyes. 

Ron slapped Draco's shoulder, making Draco's head snap up to look at him. 

" Well, you've been a bloody pain in the arse, but you are Harry's mate from what I gather, and if he's ready to give you another chance, then so am I. Just don't screw it up this time, a'right?" the redhead said awkwardly, attempting a smile at the boy who had bullied and belittled him for years.

"Thank you Weas-Ron. I promise I won't fail you this time." Draco said, smiling at Ron with regret and appreciation. 

"Well, if Ron's trying to fix it with you, it wouldn't hurt for all of us to try, would it?" Said Dean, winking at Harry. 

There were sounds of agreement from all around the table, as Harry grinned at them with a smile so bright and happy that it could rival the Sun.

"Thank you all so much, for being this accepting of me and my mate." Said, Harry. "It means a lot to me."

Draco inclined his head politely, smiling warmly at the people who had accepted him so readily, even after all he had done to them and held Harry's hand under the table, eternally grateful to have someone who would stand by him no matter what.

As he twined his fingers together with Harry's he squeezed his hand three times,

I love you.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry was sitting in Charms, a class he didn't have with Draco. He missed his mate terribly. Professor Flitwick as going on about some theory of charms or the other. Harry picked up his quill and wrote on his forearm,

"Missing you. Room of requirement today?"

within seconds, he had a reply in Draco's elegant script. 

"of course love. 5:00? I'll get snacks "

Harry smiled lovingly down at his arm. he scrawled back,

" Sure. Meet me there? I love you "

all the messages on his hand smudged off and they were replaced by a heart with the words 'I love you' underneath. Harry grinned and looked up at his Professor.

｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡

After his classes for the day were done, Hary sprinted up to the seventh floor. He checked to see that nobody was around, and walked across a particular wall three times, thinking of a comfortable place for him to spend the rest of his day. 

He snuck into the door and walked into one of the most delightful rooms he had ever seen. It had a fireplace set in front of a large, cosy couch. There were two doors on either side of the room. Harry dropped his bag and went to investigate, tugging off his tie. 

It turned out the Doors led to two bedrooms, one decorated with Gryffindor colours and the other with Slytherin ones. Harry frowned and shook his head. He shut his eyes and imagined the room again. When he opened his eyes again, the room was completely transformed. It was now decked out in Gryffindor and Slytherin colours. The two doors were still there though, and when Harry looked closer, he found that one led to a spacious bedroom, With a large king-sized bed in the middle. Set in front of the bed was a small fireplace, a smaller version of the one in the room outside. On the bedside tables, there were a few bottles of butterbeer and firewhiskey, along with two glasses to drink them with. 

Harry smiled and Decided he was going to convince Draco to stay the night with him in the room. He cast a quick tempus and seeing he was a half-hour early, he slipped on his invisibility cloak and snuck out to Gryffindor tower to get a few things to stay the night. When he got back, he wrote quickly on his arm

"I think the room wants us to stay the night. I got my stuff. Stay with me? "

He carefully took off his shirt so as not to disturb the writing. He changed into a pair of sweatpants and a warm Gryffindor sweater. When he saw he didn't have an answer from Draco yet, he decided to down and finish a potions essay.

Harry was just about done with his essay when Draco walked into the room, smiling at Harry and coming over to give him a kiss. 

"I missed you today. We didn't have any classes together." Said Draco running his hands through Harry's hair while Harry - sitting on a chair - put his arms around the blond's waist and nuzzled into his stomach. 

" I knooooww..." Harry said, his words muffled by Malfoy's Robes. "I've wanted to hug you for ages." He said dropping kisses onto the pale boy's abdomen. 

"Finish off that essay and come sit with me, would you?" The silver-eyed boy said, Dropping his bag next to Harry's. He took out some clothes and started changing. Harry was packing up his things and his jaw dropped. 

Draco sodding Malfoy was taking off his shirt right in front of him and Harry was drooling. Though you couldn't see that Draco was muscular, when he took his shirt off you could see his gorgeous body, lithe and elegant. Draco shrugged off his shirt and put on a Slytherin Sweater identical to Harry's. And that was when he realised,

Draco was standing in front of him

in his boxers.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry stared at Draco's model-like figure, his books dropping from his hands. Hearing the thud they made as they hit the wooden floor, Draco looked at Harry, eyebrows raised. 

"Like what to see potter?" Draco smirked, giving the Gryffindor a slow strip down, eyes roving from the Gryffindor's ebony hair to his bare feet.

Harry shook his head as if shooing away some flies, and when he looked back up, he had a mischievous glint in his eye that made Draco's breath hitch in his chest. Harry gave him a smirk that said he knew what this was doing to Draco, and stalked over to the Slytherin.

"Oh definitely, Love. Just enjoying the view" Said Harry giving Draco a predatory grin, resting his arms on the pale boy's waist. 

"O-oh Real-ly?" Stuttered Draco as Harry slipped his warm hands underneath Draco's Slytherin sweater, his fingers exploring every crevice of Malfoy's chiselled torso. 

"Really." Harry breathed, crashing his lips to the blond's. This kiss was like none they had before. This one was rough with Harry kissing Draco like he was a drowning man and Draco was the only source of air. Harry bit Draco's lip, making him groan into his mouth, Harry took the opportunity to slip his tongue into the taller boy's mouth, probing every inch it.

As Harry was kissing the boy he loved, he realised Draco tasted like green apples and peppermint. For some absurd reason, this made Harry grin, as he moved his mouth down to the soft juncture of the ivory-skinned boy's neck. 

"Harry..." Draco moaned, plunging his fingers into Harry's hair. 

"Mmmm...you're so beautiful Malfoy," Harry said, his voice vibrating through Draco's body, sending sparks running along his skin. Just then Harry nipped at the Slytherin's skin, making Draco gasp. Harry licked at the spot, making Draco moan with pleasure. 

Harry hummed proudly at his work, and his mouth found Draco's once more. 

This time the kiss was full of adoration and awe for the mercury-eyed boy. The sheer emotion in Harry's kiss knocked Draco's feet out from under him. If it wasn't for Harry's Quidditch toned arms, he would have been on the floor by now.

Harry broke the kiss for air, burying his head into the blond's shoulder. 

"I love you so much, you'll never know." He sighed. 

"I think I do know, cause I love you just the same." Draco panted, running his slender fingers through his mate's hair. 

Harry smiled softly at the blond and suddenly picked him up, Draco locking his ankles behind Harry's back as he threw his arms around the ravenette's neck. 

Harry walked over to the couch and set them both down on it, the Slytherin in his lap. Draco played with the soft hair at the nape of Harry's neck as he stared into those jade eyes that he loved.

"Draco..." said Harry nervously, "I know we're mates, I know we have to seal the bond, but I just want to take things slow y' know? We've acted like we were enemies all this time, so we don't know each other. I want us to take our time, get to know each other, go on dates, do things normal couples do. I don't want us to rush into anything and fuck it up, you know? I just..." he trailed off, gesturing aimlessly with his hands.

Draco pulled him close then, his heart melting at the uncertainty of the darker boy.

"Of course love. We can do whatever you like, in all honesty, I would love to take it slow. Get to know you better." Draco said grinning down at the smaller boy. "So, Harry James Potter, will you go out on a date with me?" Draco said, hope gleaming clearly in his eyes.

Harry blushed at the grey-eyed boy's imploration, burying his face into his shoulder.

Draco smiled and shook his head at the flustered boy. Hooking a finger under Harry's chin, Draco made green eyes meet grey. 

"Hogsmeade, this weekend, with me. Yeah?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry flushed again, nodding his head, fiddling with Draco's fingers.

"Good," whispered Draco kissing Harry's temple as he tugged the shorter boy to the bedroom.


	11. Chapter 11

When Harry and Draco got to the bedroom, Draco sucked in a breath. Harry realised that Draco hadn't seen the room before. Then he realised that it might be from the thought of having to share a bed with him.

"Umm... we don't have to share the bed if you don't want to; I can easily ask the room to make two for us," Harry whispered, casting his eyes downwards.

Draco looked at the gorgeous boy before him. His obsidian lashes casting smoky shadows on his caramel skin. He smiled, shaking his head lovingly.

"of course I want to sleep with you, you great dunce. Not in that way yet, but we can sleep in the same bed scarhead," said Draco, ruffling the Gryffindor's hair lovingly, tugging him towards the large bed.

Harry flushed and smiled shyly at the Slytherin, wondering what he had ever done to deserve somebody like him.

As Harry let his mind wander, Draco had already slipped into the sheets and was now laying on his side, closed lashes fanning across aristocratic cheekbones. Harry smiled softly at the sight as he went to fetch himself a glass of water.

When he came back, Harry realised that the Slytherin was fast asleep, his face peaceful, as he slumbered. Not wanting to wake his sleeping mate, Harry tried to get into bed as noiselessly as possible, silently slipping into the lavish sheets. 

It seemed as though Draco had somehow sensed the arrival of his mate, as he slowly blinked his eyes open. 

"c' mere," He said, opening his arms for the messy-haired boy, who instantly snuggled into them, grinning.

"Mmmmm..." Draco hummed as he folded the boy into his arms, twining cold, pale legs with warm, tan ones as sleep pulled him into her arcadian embrace.

｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡

Harry woke up gasping from some nightmare or the other. He couldn't remember what happened, but he was terrified. sweat stuck his hair to his forehead and his sweater to his back. He felt waves of dread crashing over him, his breath coming in short gasps. It felt like his chest was closing up, the horror clawing its way up his chest, making it feel like he had received a powerful blow. He was breathless, going lightheaded due to lack of oxygen. 

That was when Draco got wind of what was happening and quickly went over to the gasping boy, grabbing hold of his shoulders even as he felt tears dropping onto his forearms.

"Breathe, darling Breathe, deep breath in; come on, I'm here. It wasn't real Harry, It was just a dream. Come on, look at me everything's going to be alright." Draco said, rubbing Harry's back and pulling him in close. 

Hearing his mate's voice, Harry started gulping down lungfuls of oxygen in an attempt to quell his racing heart.

When he had reached some semblance of sanity, Harry finally looked into Draco's stormy eyes, roiling with concern and vague panic.

"Are you okay?" he asked, smoothing Harry's dripping hair away from his forehead. 

At the tender motion, Harry started crying in earnest, pouncing onto Malfoy, clutching at his as though he was the only thing keeping him on this Earth. He trembled in the paler boy's arms, his body ravaged by sobs that ripped his heart out of his chest. 

"I'm here, darling. You're okay, you're fine. You're safe with me. It's okay" Draco murmured, burying his lips in Harry's hair, dropping kisses onto the nest of obsidian curls. Harry wept into his shoulder, hands fisting in the material of his sweater as he held the smaller boy ever tighter, unwilling to let go.

When Harry could finally stop his heaving breaths, he pulled away from his Slytherin, just enough to look him in the eye.

"Don't ever leave me," Harry whispered, his voice breaking at the second word.

Malfoy looked at this exquisite human before him, this broken boy who had managed to smile, despite all odds. His beautiful, broken man, who now beseeched him never to leave.

He couldn't put what he was feeling into words, so instead, he leaned and kissed the tan boy with a bruising force, the kiss saying everything he couldn't.

Harry could feel everything Draco was feeling. Though he didn't say anything, the way his lips moved across Harry's mouth said everything. Harry melted into the kiss, groaning when Draco nipped at his lips, asking for entrance. Harry gave in willingly, twining his fingers through the taller boy's hair. 

When they broke apart, harry simply rested his head against the blond's temple, taking the moment in. taking him in. 

"I love you, ferret," He said giggling at the memory

Draco chuckled, giving his partner a playful shrug. 

"Say what we go to bed now?" He said softly, already pulling the Gryffindor down, onto the bed.

"g' night" Harry mumbled, curling into Draco's side like a cat, already half asleep.

"g' night love," Draco whispered, pressing a kiss to Harry's brow. As he fell asleep Harry's scent enveloped him like a blanket. Draco hummed with approval, giving in to the exhaustion.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, Harry woke up to the sound of music softly floating in the air. As he coaxed his drowsy eyes open, he realised, it was a voice he knew; smiling faintly, he stretched awake, every muscle in his body groaning in pleasure. 

He realised, that sometime during the course of the night, he had taken off his sweater, leaving him in only his track pants. 

He followed the noise, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, taking in the sunlight somehow streaming through the windows of the room of requirement, where, he recalled, he had stayed the night..... with Draco. With a start, he noticed that it was Draco's voice hanging in the air. 

He followed the sound, but he stopped dead in his tracks at what he found. 

As he leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen, he let his eyes rest lovingly on the scene before him. 

Draco Malfoy. The Draco Malfoy was in his boyfriend's sweater. Draco was clad in Gryffindor colours, flipping pancakes, as he danced to music coming from the earphones he had in. He sang along in his velvet voice, making Harry's heart melt at the melody. 

Pureblood, Prissy Malfoy, was Dancing his arse off to 'footloose'. At 8 in the morning. Harry laughed, slapping a hand onto his mouth the instant the sound left his mouth, not wanting to fracture the moment before him. He watched for a while as his boyfriend swung his hips and sang at the top of his voice to one of the biggest hits of the 80s. 

He smirked as he snuck closer to his boyfriend, tugging an earpiece out of Draco's ears, he whipped around, only to be met by Harry's hands, grabbing hold of his, as the raven-haired boy led him into a fast pace, the tan boy's gravelly voice joining in with the blonde's as the danced around the room, breakfast laying forgotten on the table. 

｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡

As the final notes of 'footloose' faded away, Harry, laughed, panting as he picked up his Slytherin and carried him to the kitchen, setting him down on a chair, kissing his nose. He turned around to finish making the pancakes that Draco had started. 

"That was the most fun I've had in ages" Draco panted, shoving the damp hair out of his face. 

The two boys had danced like there was no tomorrow, the boy who lived danced like the devil, sure-footed and graceful, he looked like sin incarnate moving his hips the way he did. Who would've thought the saviour of the wizarding world could dance like a terpsichorean? 

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Draco asked, looking at his mate in consternation and wonder.

"oh, here and there," Harry replied, dodging the question whilst he dropped a pancake onto Draco's plate and kissed his brow. 

Draco frowned at the obvious deflection, but the sweet, sweet smell of pancakes made his mouth water, so he chose to dig into his breakfast instead.

Just the Harry chuckled, "Who'd've thought that a Malfoy would be listening to muggle music through a muggle device?" He flipped another pancake " speaking of, when did you get into muggle technology anyway? and when did you get a phone?" Harry enquired, brimming with questions. 

"Mphf," Draco said through the food in his mouth. Harry turned around, laughing at the sight of the boy sitting at the table, looking rather like a redhead he scoffed at.

Harry walked over to the blonde, still giggling as he hugged him from behind and rested his chin on the paler boy's head.

"You're adorable, you know," Harry mumbled, nuzzling the soft strands of hair. 

"Hmmmmmm" hummed Draco contentedly, grinning like a fool. squeezing his mate's arms with his elbows, his hands occupied holding cutlery. 

Suddenly, Harry's eyes lit up. "The great hall will be decorated today!" he said looking like a child. "can we go see? pleeeeeeaaaasssee?" harry said bouncing on his feet.

Draco rolled his eyes, grinning as he ruffled the brunette's hair, "sure love, just let me get ready."

"YESSSSSSSS" whisper-shouted Harry, punching the air, while Draco left to take a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!! so I have just now realised, I never introduced myself XD I'm Aelin, or you can call me has (It's weird ik, its a whole thing) and well, I love to write :) you can find more of my stuff on Wattpad (@whataboutmyfries) or you can also find me on Tumblr (@whataboutmyfries) or Instagram (@whataboutmyfrieswrites) anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic and feel free to drop a comment and tell me what you think of it!


	13. Chapter 13

When Draco stepped out of the shower, Harry's jaw hit the floor. The blond had given himself a trim, using magic of course. Draco's hair was now shorter on the sides while being longer on the top. The man looked like sex on legs, what with the low hanging towel on his waist and the water dripping down his chiselled torso. Harry was drooling at the sight. Malfoy looked hot as hell. 

Harry managed to look away just before Malfoy caught his eye. He cleared his throat and attempted to look like he was gathering his things. 

Malfoy smirked, "like what you see, potter?" he purred, as he dried himself off. 

"wha- who- when- NOTHING!" harry stuttered, stuffing his things into his bag while his cheeks painted themselves crimson. 

Draco laughed and came over to hug his mate from the back, wearing harry's quidditch jersey. When Harry noticed, this only made him turn a darker shade of red- if that was possible. 

"y-you look really good Draco." Harry managed to mumble incoherently. The sound made Malfoy giggle, turning the shorter boy around in his arms, pressing a kiss to his brow. 

"thank you," he said, smiling. "go get dressed you sap, then we can go look at the decorations."

Harry's face lit up at that, as he went to change dreaming of a winter wonderland. 

｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡

McGonagall had gone all out for the Christmas after the war. All the classrooms and corridors were decked in tinsel and wreaths shining with tiny magical lights that flickered and shone, changing colour occasionally. The portraits walked into each other's frames wearing wreaths in their hair, and tiny baubles in their ears. enormous Christmas trees stood in the hallways, weighed down with decorations, both magical and muggle. Twinkling lights were littered across the ceiling sparkling and shimmering. The ceiling was enchanted to look as though it was snowing, small flakes of slow falling down onto students spasmodically. Mistletoe unfurled upon the heads of the couples walking the halls. Fairies flew among the snowflakes, showering glowing dust on the passersby. 

Harry stared at the snowy spectacle absolutely dumbfounded. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Draco's voice snapped Harry out of his daze. when he turned his head to look at his boyfriend, he saw quicksilver eyes filled with child-like wonder, a grin splitting Draco's face in half. He looked irresistible, just then, a movement above their heads caught Harry's eye. He looked up to see misletoe blossoming over their heads. 

Harry beamed, kissing the boy before him passionately. When he pulled away, Malfoy's porcelain skin was flushed, his pink lips slightly swollen. 

The Slytherin shook out his hair, making him look like sin embodied. 

"Let's go to breakfast, shall we?" 

｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡

As Harry walked over to the eighth year table, he finally blurted out the questions that had been bouncing around his head.

"Since when do you have a phone Malfoy?"

"When did you get into muggle technology"

"What about muggle music?"

"How much do you know about muggles now?"

As Harry interrogated the Slytherin, Draco answered each question patiently, occasionally running a hand through his messy hair. every time e did this though, he noticed the green-eyed boy on his arm flush, clearing his throat and losing track of what he was saying. He smiled to himself, loving that he had such an effect on the Gryffindor.

They finally sat down at the Eighth year table, tearing their eyes from each other when Harry finally noticed the scene around them. 

Almost every single girl in the hall was drooling over the Slytherin, seemingly unable to rip their eyes away from the blonde, who was notedly, wearing a Gryffindor quidditch jersey. with the words '7 Potter' emblazoned on the back in gold thread. Harry growled possessively when a girl walking past their table winked suggestively at Draco. Draco's only response was a cocked eyebrow and a twirl of his fork. 

When a guy walking past the table did the same, Harry made a rough sound at the back of his throat and surged forward to claim his mate's lips. The Ravenclaw stared, his mouth mopping the floor before he scurried away. 

"Jealous, are we?" Draco smirked, spinning his fork around his fingers absentmindedly.

"No?!?!" Harry said, crossing his arms and pouting like a child. Draco giggled and pulled his boyfriend in close, pressing a kiss to his head. 

"we're literally wearing each other's names Harry, they know I'm yours." said the blond, gesturing to the jerseys they both wore; each wearing the others.

"I know, but that doesn't make it any better," Harry grumbled, his arm snaking around the taller boy's waist.

"I know dar-" Draco was cut off by a Hufflepuff walking past who bit her lip suggestively and walked off with a very lewd, "Hey Harry". Draco bared his teeth at her, growling. Harry laughed and ruffled his hair. 

"Who's the jealous one now?" he snickered. 

"shut up" scoffed Malfoy, giving his mate a playful shove.

Harry laughed and pulled the taller boy towards him. although it was only by a couple of centimetres, Draco always held it over Harry, because he had to tilt his chin up to reach the paler boy's lips.

Just then, the bell rang, signalling the start of lessons. Draco and Harry got up kissing each other goodbye before they parted ways.


	14. Chapter 14

That evening, Draco and Harry met in the room of requirement, it seemed that this was going to become a tradition of sorts. 

Harry was sitting with his head in Draco's lap, both of them listening to the Slytherin's music. 

Malfoy had a tase for the eighties, the playlist consisting of hits from the time like 'living on a prayer' and 'Eye of the tiger'. Although he did have some pop songs from the "now". 

Harry was reading the newspaper he had snatched that morning and hummed every now and then. Just then, a gasp of horror escaped him as he sat bolt upright, his eyes scanning the page frantically, taking in every detail the article provided. 

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, a small frown furrowing his brow.

"Look at this" Harry breathed in horror, shoving the page under Draco's face.

'Anti-deatheater protestors kill one in knockturn alley, culprits missing ' headline read, showing a picture of the victim underneath. 

"apparently, they cast a dark mark above him to show that it was his own actions that killed him. It says that they also left a note." Harry said softly, reading the article.

when the raven-haired boy looked up, he saw that his mate was no longer looking at the paper. Instead, he was staring down at his forearm in fear and disgust. 

Harry's face softened and fell at the look on Draco's. Immediately, he pushed the newspaper away, pulling the bold into a crushing embrace.

"I'm so sorry love, I didn't mean to upset you I was just reading, and I didn't think and I'm so stupid and oh my god, I'm so sorry," Harry said, panicking while he stroked Draco's back.

All of a sudden, as they sat there in the silence, Draco pulled away, looking up with tear running down his face.

"Why do you love me? what's there to love? I'm worthless. I killed so many people, I did so many things, I hurt you so much? Why do you love me? Is this some sort of prank?" Draco whispered, the words falling out of his mouth.

For a few seconds, all Harry could do was gape at the other boy in shock. How could he think of all these things? he opened his mouth and closed it, for lack of anything to say. He looked like a goldfish before he softly cupped the paler boy's cheeks.

"Draco look at me," Harry whispered as the blond's eyes stayed firmly glued to the floor. 

when the blonde refused, the Gryffindor hooked a finger under his mate's chin and gently pulled his chin up so that Draco could look nowhere but at him. Green eyes met grey.

"Listen to me and listen to me good. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are perfect and precious and I would fight the war all over again if it meant that I could be with you like this, in this moment. You are beautiful and you mean the world to me. Don't you ever think lesser of yourself, love." Harry whispered. He caressed porcelain cheeks with the pad of his thumb wiping away tear after tear that fell there.

when the Slytherin finally looked up at him, his voice raspy from crying, he said three words that melted Harry's heart every time he heard them.

"I love you." 

｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡｡.☆.｡

6 days till Christmas

the next morning, both boys were considerably happier than they were the previous night, having spoken to each other about their issues and come to a mutual agreement that they would never leave one another. 

The day went around as usual, with the exception that Harry had Quidditch practise that evening. Harry had been severely reprimanded by his team. In the waves of happiness and bliss that came from finding his mate, the captain had entirely forgotten about the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match taking place that weekend.

Harry rushed down to the pitch, swiftly changing into his quidditch outfit. when he was done, he walked out into the pitch, pulling his jersey over his head as he went. when the material finally fell around his body, he realised that it smelt like Malfoy. remembering the day before, he grinned, smelling the fabric once more before he soared off into the sky.


	15. Chapter 15

5 days till Christmas 

Staying in the room of requirement had become an everyday thing for the boys. They loved how the room could turn into whatever they wanted it to be. 

Harry walked out of the shower after a gruelling quidditch practise session, where tempers had flared as they flew around the pitch in dismal weather, the rain pouring down soaking them through and through and turning the ground to slush.

Harry quickly pulled on a pair of joggers and one of Draco's jumpers as he walked out to meet the blond. When he finally got outside, he saw the blond dancing to a song that Harry knew and liked. Dancing in the dark by Bruce Springsteen. 

He smiled and walked over to him, pulling an earplug out before putting it into his own ear and joining the boy in dancing to the tune. 

The two boys went on like this for a while, laughing and smiling as they spun each other around and singing along to the songs they loved. 

Suddenly a melody started and Harry gasped.

"I love this song," he whispered, eyes brimming with emotion. " I know the moves completely."

"Me too," Draco whispered in response smiling softly at the shorter boy.

"then let's dance," the ravenette breathed, leading the blond into the opening steps of the song

as the opening chords to time of my life floated through the earphones, both boys started moving as though this was all they knew how to do. 

They looked ethereal, as they floated across the room, Harry playing the role of Johnny, while Draco made the perfect Baby. 

The dance, it seemed, was written into their blood. Both the boys moving with each other possessing a passion and chemistry that they never had before. 

When it came time for the iconic lift, Draco's stormy eyes met startling malachite as he ran towards his mate, his heart thudding in his chest.

When Draco jumped, it was as though everything went in slow motion, Harry lifted up the boy as though he weighed nothing, Draco's heart, stopping for a second in that moment where he wasn't sure if Harry could catch him. But it was a picture-perfect moment, almost rivalling the one in the movie. Almost.

As the song faded away, Harry gently put the blond back on his feet kissing him delicately as he set the pale boy down.

Harry deepened the kiss, kissing Malfoy with devastating intensity. When he pulled away, he rested their sweat-slicked foreheads together.

"I had the time of my life, love, and I owe it all to you," Harry said, paraphrasing the song.

Draco merely smiled, pressing their lips together once more, pulling the olive-skinned boy ever closer with every press of his lips.

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Hands everywhere, the snap of leather against wet skin, carpet underneath his fingers, A swift kick to the ribs. "this is for your own good" Vernon Dursley growled. bringing his belt down onto his shredded skin once more. All of a sudden, he heard movement above him, a pale hand coming to lift him to his feet. Draco wiped away Harry's tears gently. Suddenly, his face twisted with malice as he delivered a sharp slap to Harry's face. "how did you think that I could ever love you. You're a murderer." he spat, turning on his heel and walking out the door. Harry ran after him frantically, falling through the door to find himself in the burrow.

The scene before him was devastating, all the Weasleys gathered around the limp, lifeless body of Fred, George, clutching at his chest, holding on to whatever he could, as sobs ripped his thin frame apart. 

As though sensing his presence, the Weasleys turned to him as one. Molly Weasley scowled darkly. If looks could kill, harry would be dead ten times over. 

"it's your fault. You killed him." they all shouted at him. Staring remorselessly at him as he wept. Suddenly, Molly weasely ran towards him with her hands reaching for his throat, screaming and shouting as her nails sunk into his throat. 

Harry shot up. His hands fisted in the sheets. 

hit me, hurt me, murderer, my fault

hit me, hurt me, murderer, my fault

hitmehurtmemurderermyfault 

he struggled to breathe, his chest caving into itself, as he saw his uncle's raised fist int he air, ready to bring down the dreaded strip of leather down once more. He hears Draco suddenly, sitting up beside him trying to calm the Gryffindor down.

he shifts closer, and he tries to call Harry, get him out of whatever trance he's in. But to no avail.

He reaches out to, gently putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. 

Big mistake.

Harry screams, jumping out of bed, distancing himself from his mate as he frantically crawls into a corner to get as far away from him as he can. he curls up into a ball, resting his head on his knees, rocking back and forth.

inhale. one, two. Exhale. one. two. inhale. one. two. exhale. one. two. 

Harry tries to calm himself down as Draco runs across the room and slides down next to him; keeping an inch of space between them, which the ravenette appreciates.

"Harry, it's me, Draco, breathe come on love, you can do it, breathe darling, that's it." Draco murmurs softly, restraining himself from reaching out and touching the other boy. 

"Can you please give me your sweater?" Harry gasps, still fighting to get enough air in his lungs.

"Wh- Yeah, yes love whatever you need." Draco whispers, perplexed before he tugs the sweater over his head and handing it to the boy beside him. 

Harry grabs the fabric as though it were a lifeline as he buries his face in it and takes a deep breath in. the smell of Apples and vanilla grounded him and brought him back to reality. As long as Draco was here, he would be safe. he would be safe. 

"love, is it okay if I touch you?" Draco whispers, his voice breaking from the pain of seeing his mate in this condition. 

Harry simply nods, before Draco pulls him into a hud resting his head atop the shorter boy's onyx locks. 

"thank you," Harry whispers into Draco's shoulder, clutching onto the pale boy for dear life "I love you."

"I love you too harry." the blonde says softly, dropping kisses on Harry's forehead.

"I always will."


	16. Chapter 16

Draco sat with Harry until he had calmed down entirely before gently tugging on his hand. Harry looked up at him questioningly, before Draco pulled him to his feet, leading him into the kitchen.

The blond sat his mate down at the kitchen table before turning to the sink to get his mate a drink of water. He watched as the Gryffindor quickly downed his glass before grinning and getting them a large tub of icecream. he walked over to the couch, flopping down to it and patting the place next to him. Harry smiled and walked over to his boyfriend snuggling into his side while the Slytherin turned on the TV. 

They settled on watching bridesmaids. eventually, both of them were laughing their asses off, eating icecream and lying on the couch. 

when the movie was over, Harry was lying with his head in Draco's lap licking the last of the ice cream of his spoon. Draco was running his fingers through Harry's hair staring at the black screen pensively.

He bent down and kissed his boyfriend's head pulling away and asking tenderly, "do you want to talk about it?"

Harry looked up at Draco's concerned face pushing some hair off of the other boy's forehead. 

"It was nothing just a bad dream." He said, grateful that magic had healed the scars on his back so that nobody had to see them. 

"Are you sure?" the blond said frowning. still carding his long, elegant fingers through his mate's hair. 

"Maybe tomorrow," Harry replied, avoiding the question while he pulled the Slytherin up, making their way to the bedroom, to turn in for the rest of the night. 

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4 Days till Christmas

The next morning, Draco woke up to the absence of warm arms around him. He turned over looking for his boyfriend, but the other side of the bed was empty. He groaned as he stretched and got out of bed. 

When he was done with his bath, he walked into the kitchen to find the Gryffindor standing there making both of them a killer breakfast. Having asked the room for a waffle iron and enchanted a knife to cut fruits, Harry was making pancakes for the both of them singing 'Always take you back' by 'Night terrors of 1927' He turned around when he heard Malfoy, turning down the flame and walking over to kiss his Slytherin, making him smile as he pecked the other boy and went back to making breakfast. Draco smiled and put some music on his phone casting a sonorous charm on it to make the music louder. He walked over to his boyfriend, sliding his arms around the shorter boy's waist, kissing his neck while he rested head on the tan boy's shoulder.

"Hey," Harry said, smiling as he rested his head on Draco's. "I made breakfast!" He said, kissing the blond locks he was resting his head on. Draco grinned, humming softly as he kissed Harry's neck. When he reached the spot behind Harry's ear he sucked on it gently, eliciting a moan from the Gryffindor. He smirked as he bit at it, making the other boy melt into his touch. 

When he pulled away, he smiled at his handiwork. A patchwork of bruises up and down the Gryffindor's neck.

Harry smirked at the look on his mate's face, "Like what you see Malfoy?" he purred, licking his lips sinfully.

"why yes potter I am quite enjoying the view." Draco purred back, tugging at his boyfriend's ebony hair pulling him in for another kiss. 

Harry grinned, kissing him back, tilting his chin to deepen the kiss. The action elicited a deep growl from Draco who growled and flipped them over so that Harry was now pinned to the kitchen counter, breakfast long forgotten. The alabaster skinned boy, lifted his partner's legs up so that Harry was now sitting on the counter, leaning down to kiss the Slytherin. 

The smell of something burning and the sound of fire quickly jolted them out of their passionate embrace. Harry whipped his head around to see a pancake caught on fire in the pan. 

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, swiftly wetting a cloth and throwing it over the flames. Draco meanwhile, stood by chuckling. Laughing at the way the Gryffindor's face looked, swollen lips and a flushed complexion, that was starkly contrasted by his messy hair. 

"Maybe we should just have breakfast," Draco giggled, giving Harry a chaste kiss on the lips. 

Harry smiled into the kiss. When he pulled away, his stomach growled with agreement, making both boys laugh and walk over to the table Harry had laid with a delicious feast for the both of them. 

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Draco and Harry had no classes together that day much to their dismay. So they did the next best thing, they spoke through their newfound system; writing on their arms. The day passed with short notes and declarations of their love being sent throughout. 

In the middle of transfiguration, Draco got a quickly scrawled note from Harry divulging the fact that he had a gift for him that the Gryffindor would present to him at the end of the day. The pale boy smiled at his palm and noticing McGonagall's glare, swiftly closed it and turned his attention back to the front of the class.

At the end of the day, Draco was squirming with curiosity. Desperate to find out what his mate had gotten him, he rushed down to the great hall choosing to take a shortcut through a dark corridor on the way there. He soon wished he hadn't though, because he saw his mate there

Standing in the shadows,

Kissing somebody else.


	17. Chapter 17

For a second, all Draco could do was stand and gape at the two of them, before Harry pushed the girl away, and his eyes locked with Draco's. Fear and distress clouded clear emerald, before Draco ripped his eyes away from them, his own vision ill-defined through the haze of tears streaming down his cheeks. 

The Slytherin turned and ran as fast as he could to the Roof of requirement, asking- no, begging- the room to give him a place Harry couldn't find him in. He marched in front of the wall as briskly as he could manage. When the door finally materialized, he ran into the room, slamming the door shut while he threw his things aside and collapsed to the floor, not even getting to the couch before he succumbed to the aching sobs heaving out of his chest. 

Draco Malfoy sunk to the floor, utterly broken by what he had just seen. He could feel the bond they had splintering and cracking along with the remnants of his heart. The Heart that Harry had just helped him piece together. His body shook with each painful sob that shoved its way out of his mouth. 

how could Harry do this to him? did he not mean it when he said he loved him? did he doe something wrong? all these questions and more ran through Draco's mind causing his mind to become a blur of words and sorrow. 

When the tears had faded away a little, he looked down at his arm, the one with the dark mark. After the war, he had gotten it tattooed over by a muggle tattoo artist. It was covered with intricate flower patterns, mostly narcissus; but there were a few lilies here and there. He had always loved them for reasons unbeknownst to him.

His other arm was covered in thin pale scars, that were only visible if you looked really closely. he too had once resorted to blades to relieve his sorrow. He had quit the habit soon after his father was sentenced to Azkaban. He looked at the scars through another wave of tears when suddenly, he felt a slight sting on his arm. 

He wiped his eyes and looked closer. A smallish gash had opened up on his arm and immediately he knew something was wrong.

_Harry._

━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━ _  
_

Draco shot to his feet and ran out the room, his heartbeat booming in his ears as an overwhelming wave of sorrow and despair flooded his mind. He knew it wasn't his and he hoped he wasn't too late. He ran faster than he had ever run before, his feet frantically thumping on the cold floor and his arms automatically shoving people out of his way.

_Please, Harry. please don't be dead. I'm coming for you just hold on love, please._

He prayed to every god he could think of. He didn't even realise he was crying until he felt the salt of the tears in his mouth when he stopped at the front of the 8th year common room. 

The portrait before him was one Harry had told stories about. He and the painting were well acquainted it seemed. Sir Cadogan looked down at Draco from his fat pony and asked imperiously,

"Well fair lad, you shall not pass...unless you know the watchword."

"Flibbertigibbet" Draco panted before he burst into the common room, heading straight to the room he and Harry shared. When he got there, there was a note on his bed. Upon closer inspection. it was written in Harry's scrawl, which only made Malfoy panic more. He ran to the bathroom, banging his palm against the door, only to realise it was locked. In a sudden fit of hysteria, Draco slammed his shoulder into the door to no avail. 

Remembering he was a wizard and had a wand, he fumbled for it with shanking hands, his tears rolling down his face in earnest. When he finally got a hold of the damn thing he pointed it at the doorknob with trembling fingers, casting a speechless alohamora charm. 

At the soft click of the lock, he burst into the bathroom to find Harry lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

"NO," Draco roared collapsing to his feet. He had divested himself of his robes so his knees were wet with Harry's blood.

"HARRY NO, no no no no no... come on Harry, don't do this to me " He screamed, Touching Harry's face and hair, for any sign that he was still alive. 

Harry' lips were blue, his olive skin had turned a sickly grey. His skin was cold as Draco held him close. Suddenly, Draco remembered seeing Hermione and Ron in the common room downstairs.

"HERMIONE, RON, HELP ME!" He cried, his voice breaking as he shouted the words.

Hermione and Ron ran up the stairs as fast as they could upon hearing Draco's distressed call. They barged into the room and when the saw him lying there they both gasped in shock, Hermione's eyes immediately brimming with tears.

Being the sensible one, Hermione immediately suggested they take him to Madam Pomfrey. Draco shakily got to his feet, his white shirt now red with his mate's blood as he carried the Gryffindor's limp body down the stairs. 

Upon reaching the common room, a collective gasp left the occupants, very soon a crowd gathered around the three, asking questions about the incident. 

"EVERYBODY MOVE OR I'LL HEX YOUR DUMB ARSE" Ron roared, instantly clearing a path for them while he wiped tears from his eyes. Ron it seemed was the only one with common sense as he immediately reached forward to check Harry's pulse, avoiding his slashed arm.

_He's alive._


	18. Chapter 18

At the sound of those two words, Draco's brain went into overdrive. He broke into a run, holding his mate closer to his chest. He sniffed harshly, determined to save the faint heartbeat he could now hear thrumming in his head somehow. 

He burst through the doors of the infirmary, screaming for Madam Pomfrey. She rushed out of the office, her eyes shuttering at the sight of the two boys. Immediately, she slipped back into her professional demeanour, ordering Malfoy to put Harry down onto a bed, and then asked them all to return to their dorms. She called for Headmistress McGonagall while all three students protested loudly.

"Shhh! There are other patients here! Keep your voices down!" She whisper-shouted sternly. 

The three children went red at their own inconsiderate behaviour. After a long, whispered argument—during which McGonagall arrived—the three students were forced to return to their halls of residence. 

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**3 days till Christmas**

Needless to say, Draco had a sleepless night, worrying about the boy he loved. That night, he slept on Harry's side of the bed, wearing the Gryffindor's sweater. Draco cried his heart out, wondering what would've happened if he'd just listened to Harry's side of the story if he'd just been a little patient, and waited for Harry to explain. That night, Draco cried himself to sleep.

The evidence of the previous night was clearly written on Draco's face the next day. His eyes were puffy and had deep black bags underneath. His alabaster skin was tinged slightly grey and his eyes were bloodshot. It almost looked as though his entire face was drooping from exhaustion and despondency. 

He groaned and left to brush his teeth and bathe. After he was done bathing, he threw on Harry's Gryffindor jersey and a pair of his joggers before leaving to go to check on him. 

On the way to the hospital, Draco realised that the events of the previous evening had completely slipped his mind. As he brought them to the forefront of his memory, the image of the girl kissing Harry sent rage coursing through his veins. He hadn't forgiven Harry for that, but at the moment, he was too worried about his life to care. He decided to confront him about it when he was better. 

He was ballistic, but he managed to quell his temperature before he walked into the hospital wing. 

When he entered he realised that Harry wasn't there. Immediately, his mind went to the worst-case scenario. Panic flooded his senses, as alarm bells went off in his head, he sprinted to Madam Pomfrey's office, bursting through the doors demanding to know where his mate was. 

"Mister Malfoy! Calm down; he's alright. Take a seat and I'll tell you what happened." Madam Pomfrey said soothingly, leading Draco to a plush chair in front of her table. 

"Where. Is. He" Draco demanded, panting slightly. 

"He's been transferred to St.Mungos. Mister Potter had lost too much blood to be treated properly by Madam Pomfrey so we made the executive decision to move him to St.Mungos. We have regular correspondence with them and we will do everything in our power to make sure he is alright. He may see visitors today, he is already awake and healed. They determined it would be ideal to keep him overnight for observation. If you like you can go visit him today after your classes." the headmistress stated in a calm voice, although if you looked closer, you could see the worry in her eyes.

"Thank you, professor. I'm so sorry for my brash entrance before, I got a little frantic when I didn't see him in here." Draco replied in a meek voice.

"That is quite alright Mister Malfoy. It is understandable, what with your being mates. You may leave now, I assume you have a class to attend?" McGonagall asked.

"I think I'm going to speak to mister Vincent if that's alright," Draco said, elegantly unfolding himself out of the chair he was sitting in. 

After receiving a curt nod from his headmistress, Draco walked away, making his way to the therapist's office. It seemed that in the bliss of finding his mate, he had completely forgotten about some parts of his life; for instance, he hadn't spoken to Blaise and Pansy in ages. he couldn't even remember the last time he had spoken to the both of them. He supposed Harry hadn't spoken to the rest of the golden trio either—that was what the three of them had taken to calling Harry, Ron and Hermione.— considering that all the Gryffindor's time was spent with him. He decided that when Harry came home, he would throw a big party open for all eighth years, to celebrate. he smiled at the thought. When musing upon forgotten things, he realised that he had completely forgotten about the therapists that had been employed recently. 

After the war, Draco had been meaning to completely reinvent himself, becoming a starkly different person than what his father had made him. One of the first steps he wanted to take was to talk to someone about what he went through during the war. It wouldn't be easy, but it was something he wanted to do. His father had taught him that a Malfoy never showed weakness or emotion for that matter. A Malfoy had to be strong. Well, his father could kiss his arse. He took a deep breath as he ascended the long flight of stairs that led to mister Sutton's office. When he finally got there, he took a few moments to steel himself before he knocked.


	19. Chapter 19

The door was opened by the kind man the students had been introduced to on the first day of term. He greeted Draco with a warm smile, moving aside to let the Slytherin in.

Draco walked into a room that was comfort embodied. The room had dark navy walls, with hovering orbs of light floating across the ceiling. The space was also filled with mismatched armchairs, all of them looked to be the most plush chairs found in a lord's castle in some faraway land. There were even a few beanbags. (Draco had recently learnt about these when he lived a muggle lifestyle for a couple of years.) At the far corners of the room, there were two large bookcases, one filled with books and the other containing various beverages, a wide variety of cups and boxes of tissue paper. The area had a lush beige carpet, with tables placed at regular intervals among the maze of chairs. Each table held tissues or mugs of various shapes and sizes. 

Draco looked around the room in awe. Behind him, Mr.Sutton cleared his throat. Draco turned around at the sound. 

"Would you like to sit?" The man asked, lowering his tall slim figure into a chair. 

"Yeah," Draco said, a little jittery and out of his depth. He folded his elegant frame into a chair, his body's reflexes going back to the manners that had been drilled into him all those years ago. His body instantly sank into the soft, warm hug that the chair gave him. He immediately relaxed a little at the feeling. 

"Would you like something to drink?" The man said, his kind eyes twinkling with genuine concern and compassion. Draco smiled politely, nodding his head in assent.

"What would you like? I'm sure we could find whatever you please," The man said, getting out of his chair and walking over to one of the bookshelves to look at the libations stored there. 

"Some butterbeer would be great, thank you so much," Draco replied, taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

"Coming right up!" the jolly man replied, waving his wand at the cabinet. Two bottles of butterbeer floated down into his hands as he walked back to Draco. He sat back down, pushing a bottle towards the Slytherin, who smiled gratefully as he lifted it to his lips. The pale boy took a large swig before he finally opened his mouth. 

"Mr Sutton, I wanted to talk to somebody about some things that I have been going through for a while. I was raised to never talk about my feelings and such so please excuse me if I say something I'm not supposed to, or stumble along the way. I just need to get some things off my chest." Malfoy said, staring at the drink in his hand, unable to meet the other man's eyes. 

"Of course Mister Malfoy, this place is a free and safe environment." The therapist said in his deep, soothing voice. 

So Draco took a bracing breath before the words he had caged inside him burst out like water from a dam.

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After three hours, two boxes of tissues and numerous bottles of butterbeer later, Draco had finally taken a great weight of his chest. He had told the man in front of him everything that he had gone through; from his hellish upbringing to his Harry bring in the hospital. He could honestly admit that he had never felt this good before. Vincent ( as he now insisted Draco call him) had listened to him patiently, occasionally offering advice and sympathy. 

When he decided he was fully decent again, he got up and shook hands with Vincent thanking him profusely for all his help, before walking out of the lavish room.

As he left, he couldn't help but think of how happy he was. Although his head was a mess of emotions, happiness and relief were strong contenders in the fight. He decided to take the day off school, quickly returning to McGonagall's office to tell her so, before he walked out onto the quidditch pitch.

He took out his broom and kicked off from the ground, flying lazily around the pitch, enjoying the feeling of the wind running its fingers through his hair and kissing his alabaster skin. As he circled idly, he thought about all the feeling he was experiencing. 

Anger, at Harry for kissing the other girl   
Fear, at what Harry had done to himself   
Relief, because he had finally told somebody all of his worries and problems   
Pride, in himself for ultimately doing what was best for himself. 

Happy that he had sorted out his thoughts, Draco landed, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it before he replaced his broom and headed back to the dormitories. For the rest of the day, Draco relaxed, occasionally going down to the kitchens to get snacks. When classes finally let out, he immediately got dressed and went to St Mungo's to check on Harry. The last thing McGonagall had told him was that Harry was awake and responsive and was asking to see him.

Draco arrived at the hospital, navigating through the crowd of witches and wizards. A mediwitch told him the whereabouts of his boyfriend. He took an elevator to the floor she told him Harry's room was. Eventually, he found the door. He stood before it for a few seconds, wondering what would go down once he walked in, but as much as he was afraid, he was desperate to ascertain the wellness of his mate for himself, so he took a steeling breath and pushed the door open.


	20. Chapter 20

When Draco walked into the room, Harry was lounging on the bed reading a book. He looked up at the sound of the door, and the book slipped from his fingers when he saw who it was. His face morphed into various expressions of love, relief and sorrow but in the end, his features settled into a mask of anxious neutrality. 

"hey," Harry rasped, his voice sounding like sandpaper. He smiled tentatively at Draco; who had chosen to keep his face a cold mask of indifference like he did all those years ago.

"so listen, I am so sorry for what you saw and I swear to you it wasn't what it looked like I promise." Harry started, rambling on as he tried to get coherent sentences out of his mouth. 

Draco held up a hand to stop him. "I need to yell at you for a bit, I need this." He told Harry as he cleared his throat. Harry merely gulped and nodded, staring at the avenging angel that was his boyfriend. 

"HARRY JAMES POTTER HOW DARE YOU KISS SOMEBODY OTHER THAN ME! YOU DID IT BEHIND MY BACK TOO, ATLEAST SHOW SOME OF YOUR OH-SO-FAMOUS GRYFFINDOR COURAGE AND TELL ME YOU DON'T LIKE ME YOU ARSE. I LOVED YOU SO FUCKING MUCH AND THEN YOU GO AHEAD AND SLICE OPEN YOUR WRISTS WITH NO EXPLANATION, OR APOLOGY OR WHATEVER, AND YOU LEAVE ME BEHIND THINKING I DID SOMETHING WRONG AND—" He breaks down, running his hands through his hair while he tried to catch his breath, tears slipping down his face.

"Draco-I-" Harry says reaching out to touch the other boy before thinking better of it and withdrawing his hand. He clears his throat, trying to get his voice steadier before he starts.

"Draco, I'm so sorry for everything I put you through. What you saw in the hall that day? I didn't kiss her. She sort of tackled me and pushed me against a wall. When I pushed her off of me, she cast some sort of spell— it was too dark for me to see— and the spell sort of made me a statue. I couldn't move and it had me pinned against the wall. I guess she got startled when you arrived so the charm broke and I'm so sorry, I didn't see where you were, so I went to the room of requirement to look for you and the room wouldn't let me in. Then I felt this excruciating pain and I don't know what It was but I thought you rejected me and I was so miserable that I thought life wasn't worth living anymore so I did what I did. I never meant to hurt you, I'm so sorry love, I never meant you any harm." The Gryffindor was doing his best to hold in his tears after his little speech. He took a deep breath and looked back up at the love of his life.

"Forgive me?" He whispered, as the tears he tried so hard to keep at bay slipped past his lashes and dropped down his cheeks. 

"Why didn't you tell me, you dunce? Of course, I forgive you," Draco said, his own face wet with tears, as he leaned forward to kiss his boyfriend's forehead. "I'm going to find the filthy scum that did this to you and I will not spare her," he growled possessively.

"I love you so much" Harry whispered, lacing his fingers with his mate's as he looked at the other boy, love shining in his green irises. 

"I'm so sorry for the things I said. I didn't know." Draco sniffled, squeezing his boyfriend's hand.

Harry smiled and opened his arms for his mate. Draco looked at him for a few seconds, considering before he said,

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you." The blond said. His mate grinned and simply beckoned him closer. Draco hesitated briefly before grinning and kicking off his shoes, sliding into bed with Harry. 

"Oh, you know I head Blaise ask a girl out with this really lame pick up line once. 'I see you're going to bed, Mind if I Slytherin?' It cracked us up, we were rolling on the floor I don't even remember why it was so funny to us then," Draco reminisced wistfully.

Harry snickered, kissing his mate's brow. He was crying but Draco didn't need to know. He rested his cheek against the blond's hair, breathing him in. "Darling, it seems we've been ignoring our friends since we found each other. I think we should make it up to them somehow," he whispered.

"I was thinking the exact same thing! I was thinking about them for the past three days, but then all this happened and I was worried sick so it must've slipped my mind." The Slytherin responded. suddenly the blond feels something wet drop onto his forehead, he looks up to see wha it is when he sees that it is, in fact, a tear from the eyes of his mate. 

"Oh no, love. Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to upset you, I'm so sorry." He said, wiping at the Gryffindor's cheeks.

"No, it's not you, babe. I thought I'd lost you after I was such an arse and I truly couldn't live without you. When I felt your pain, I thought that was you rejecting me and every ounce of self-control I had shattered. I'm so sorry I did this to us." He sniffed, wiping furiously at his eyes to get rid of the tears. 

Draco looked at Harry the boy who had saved the entire wizarding world, almost killing himself for the sake of him, a death eater. His heart burst with emotion as he leaned in closer to his mate. 

He was so close their breath mingled, and he felt more than heard Harry's breath hitch slightly. He bent forward, brushing their lips together, eliciting a moan from Harry. The blond surreptitiously cast a silencing charm around them as he moved his lips incrementally closer to his mate. It was agonisingly slow and he knew what it was doing to Harry. He smiled softly, leaning forward just that little bit more and pressing their lips together. 

Harry stiffened at the contact before melting into his mate's embrace sighing contentedly. He could not believe that this beautiful human wanted him even after everything he had done. He could never fathom the love he felt for the blond, so instead Harry chose to stay in the moment, kissing his boyfriend with everything he had.


	21. Chapter 21

**Christmas eve**

Draco stayed with Harry until his doctor said he could leave. They both walked out of the hospital handi in hand, grinning like the lovesick fools they were. The streets of wizarding London were truly a sight to behold. Every street and alleyway was extravagantly decorated with both- muggle and magical caparisons. 

Pixies in tiny elf outfits flew overhead, dropping flowers and golden dust onto passersby Some pixies were hawking their wares, magical ornaments, enchanted gifts and the like. Harry instantly turned into a 5-year-old at the sight. He dragged Draco around with him, pausing to buy some knick-knack or the other. When Harry was finally done, both boys walked back to Hogwarts with large reindeer antlers and tinsel around themselves, wearing sweaters that were enchanted to sing Christmas carols from around the world. Both boys held a bag with an undetectable extension charm. The bags in question were filled with butterbeer, firewhiskey, and numerous other snacks from honeydukes. Draco had planned a party for his mate and he was damn well going to get it. 

Obviously he hadn't told Harry what all the food was for, making up some lame excuse about him going into hibernation and needing the food to 'survive'. Harry had simply laughed, piling some more food into their bags. when they got back to the castle. Harry received a letter from McGonagall telling him to meet her in her office, so he left, pausing to kiss his mate on the cheek before he did so. 

"Do you want to come with me?" The Gryffindor asked, just as he turned to leave. 

"No that's alright, I'll be fine," Draco said, waving at Harry before the tan boy walked away. The Slytherin smiled as he walked outside the castle, deciding to take a walk to ease some of the tension he was feeling. 

Sure, he had made up with Harry and everything was alright between them, but he couldn't help but feel a little...off. He had almost lost Harry, all because of his own stupidity. He knew that, and it hurt him somewhere deep inside that Harry had almost killed himself, because of him. 

He sucked in a sharp breath of frosty air, shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts. He walked over to Hagrid's hut; choosing to walk along the edge of the forbidden forest. He walked leisurely, taking his time to absorb the world around him. The snow crunching under his feet, the soft whisper of the breeze running through the trees, the snowflakes falling onto his face and hair. He titled his head up to the sky, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

suddenly, a blinding pain shot through his abdomen, a stunning spell of some sort that put him in excruciating pain as his world faded to black.


	22. Chapter 22

**Christmas eve**

Draco awoke to darkness and his hands bound behind his back. He groaned softly, the rope of his hands cutting at his wrists as he attempted to break free. He hissed the rope dug farther into his raw and aching wrists; he assumed he had struggled to get out of the chair before. He groaned again as he felt a migraine blooming behind his eye. He sucked in a breath in an attempt to steady himself and gather his thoughts.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he looked around the room to find himself completely alone. The room was completely bare, save for a lone light hanging at the far end of the room. The room appeared to be an attic as the rafters of the sloping roof were clearly visible even in the dark.

The Slytherin shifted in his seat to see if his wand was still in his back pocket- a habit he had picked up from Harry- To no gain. It looked as though his abductors had stipped him of it. Deciding he needed to figure out where he was and who taken him captive he called out. He sat in his chair still as a statue for a few nerve-wracking seconds before he heard footsteps echo in the hallway outside his room. He took in a deep breath composing himself before the person walked in. 

The instant the individual walked in, he flicked on the light switch, making Draco flinch away from the sudden brightness assaulting his eyes. 

"Draco Lucius Malfoy..." A gruff voice purred as the man walked over to the blond's chair. "You're not going to make it out of here alive."

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Draco blinked rapidly adjusting his eyes to the new lighting situation as he squinted up at the man who had so kindly informed him of his demise. 

"Who are you?" He spat, glaring at the boulder of a man standing before him. 

The guy was at least 6 feet tall. the man was well built with broad shoulders and a large frame. He had jet black hair set atop a square face. The bloke had a face set in a scowl with scars marring the entire plane. The most prominent one by far was a thick, jagged one running from his right eyebrow to a spot just below his left ear, rising and falling over his nose and eye. Draco couldn't help but stare; bad move because it looked like the man noticed.

"Looking at this?" He rasped, "Yeah, some death eaters did this to me after he slit my wife's throat, making me watch as the life bled out of her and our children before he carved this into my face. And trust me, this isn't the only scar he put on me." 

Draco's cold, emotionless facade softened at that, his heart breaking for what this man had been through. He wondered how many others like him there were. 

"I'm so sorry. Mr..." He said gently, trying his best to retain his frigid demeanour. 

The man's fist came flying at his face. Before he could make an attempt to dodge it though, It connected with his jaw, har, bursting his lip open, making blood flow into his mouth and down his chin. "The name's Alcott and don't talk to me you scum." he spat, punching Draco in the stomach before steeping away. 

Alcott wiped at his lip, walking around the room before asking the Slytherin,

"Where are the rest of your varmint friends eh? We heard you were going to try to kill all the mudbloods after your 'dark lord' died." He said, pacing around the area. "Just you wait. We're going to round up all you good-for-nothings and eliminate you all before you can do any more damage." 

Draco cleared his throat, his body instinctively retreating into its signature drawl. "Well, my dear Alcott. It seems you have your story terribly wrong. We 'death eaters' don't have any plans of the sort. Sorry old boy, looks like you're going to have to let me go." He answered, the picture of nonchalance even in a critical situation.

Alcott let out an animalistic growl before flicking his wand at Draco. Just before the curse hit him, Draco heard the man mutter under his breath- "Crucio"

Draco howled in agony as the spell slammed into his body with the force of a charging rhinoceros. Every cell of his body screamed in anguish as he thrashed against his bonds. He screamed, again and again, while Alcott stood by smiling grimly at the suffering of the boy. 

"serves you right." He muttered before casting the curse once more. 

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It must've been at least an hour before Alcott finally stopped his sadistic torture. Draco went limp in his chair, panting as he fought to raise his head.

Alcott did it for him, wrenching Draco's head up by the hair to stare him in the eye. 

"That's just a little taste of what's to come you swine." He said as he punched him once more, harder than before while he walked out.

Draco watched the man walk away, his world spinning from his ordeal as he licked the blood off his lips. He struggled to raise his head, his sight going black around the edges. He groaned, as his vision faded to black, his chin falling against this chest.

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Draco regained consciousness to a throbbing head. He moaned, lifting his head as he felt all the injuries inflicted upon him the previous night. He opened his eyes to discover that one of them was wrecked from the blow it received yesterday, his eyesight barely a slit through the swelling. He hissed as he stuck his tongue out to inspect his lip, which too was swollen and throbbing.

He didn't know what time it was, the room was completely dark, but his pulse rose as he heard footsteps in the hallway. The door opened to reveal Alcott, greeting Draco with a sadistic smile and fresh cruiciatus curse to start his interrogation.


	23. Chapter 23

Harry walked out of McGonagall's office having been given a sound scolding and a biscuit and plenty of hugs. His head was a riot of emotion and love for his headmistress. It seemed she had gone through every emotion possible when she reprimanded him, spoke to him and laughed with him. He stepped off the golden phoenix, biting into his biscuit thoughtfully. 

Eventually, he shook his head to clear his mind, and he decided to go in search of his mate. He looked in their room, the quidditch pitch and the library to no avail. He started to get a little anxious, owing to the fact that it was almost dinnertime. Confused, he wrote on his shoulder, to angry at himself to go anywhere near his scars- 

_where are you?_

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_

Draco was panting under Alcott's assault. He had learnt how to control his emotions so harry didn't feel them, so he found some respite in the fact that his mate wasn't going through what he was.

Alcott still hadn't ceased his onslaught on the Slytherin. In fact, he had found new, and more painful curses to attack Draco with; most of which Draco hadn't even heard of. As Alcott cast another excruciating spell, Draco felt something....else through that pain, he felt a tingle on his shoulder and he panicked, knowing it was Harry trying to get in contact with him. He hoped that the fabric on his shirt hadn't ripped under the repeated violence of Alcott. 

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Harry decided to take a shower before he saw Draco again. He smelt like St Mungos. He stripped off his clothes and stepped under the warm jet of water, sighing contently as the water ran over his skin, relaxing his muscles. 

He ran his hands through his hair, unknowingly washing away the note left for his boyfriend. 

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"Still not ready to talk eh?" Alcott growled, his musty breath fanning across Draco's face "You're scum and I'm going to make sure you never forget it" he spat as he whipped his wand out once more.

Draco was almost unrecognisable under the patchwork of bruises and cuts marring his face and body. His right eye was black and swollen, and he was pretty sure Alcott had shattered his left cheekbone from when he had punched and kicked Draco for a couple of hours straight. His jaw was bruised and bloody, thanks to the deep slice on his chapped lips, dripping blood all over his chest. 

"Try whatever you want old man" The blond slurred, his head rolling from the blows he had taken, "I can't reveal plans that have never been made."

Alcott let out a grim chuckle "We'll see about that won't we?" He said as he raised his wand once more. 

Draco screamed as Alcott slowly cut the letter 's' onto the right side of his chest. The cut was extremely deep and blood gushed everywhere, drenching his already red shirt- that was white once upon a time- as well as his black trousers. 

"Still not going to talk? Very well. the longer you refuse to tell us, the longer this goes on." Alcott muttered before moving on and carving the letter 'c' right next to the first.

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Harry was pulling on his shoes to go look for Draco when an agonizing ache sliced over the right side of his torso. He pulled up his sweater to see the ghastly sight of the letter 's' cut into his skin.

Alarm bells started blaring in his head as he connected the dots. He ran out of the room, frantically screaming for the headmistress and his friends. Ron and Hermione found him instantly, just as he was stepping out of the portrait hole.

"Harry! what's wrong?" Hermione gasped, taking one look at his horror-stricken face. 

"It's Draco 'Mione, I don't know where he is but somebody's taken him and I need your help to find out who. They're tortu—AARRGHH!" Harry exclaimed as he fell to his knees. The pain from before resurfacing in a spot next to the one from before. 

"Look—Look at this," Harry said between short gasping breaths. He pulled up his sweater to reveal a nasty-looking curve gashed into the right side of his chest. Hermione gasped in horror, burying her face into Ron's chest, grabbing onto his waist. 

"It's okay 'Mione. Harry, we're going to find the bastard that did this to him. Don't worry. We'll get him. 'Mione I love you, but we have to help Harry alright? He's in immense pain and so is Draco. We have to find the git." Harry get up, let's go." Ron said, becoming their rock in the storm like he always did. 

"Thanks, mate," Harry said, hauling himself to his feet, wincing at the fading pain in his chest. 

"No worries Harry, you know you're my best friend. Okay, now didn't you say you could somehow communicate mentally or whatever? could you try that now?" Ron said, already grabbing all their coats and striding out of the portrait hole. 

The trio decided they would go to the library first, to see what the most efficient way to communicate would be. And if it was a one-time thing, at least they could find a spell to track him down.

Harry protested at first but finally saw that this was the most logical thing they could do and grudgingly followed his friends, warning them that they had to get out of there as soon as possible. 

They burst into the library, grabbing books off the shelves and piling them onto a table to read later. Once they thought they thought they sat down among the stacks of books.

Hermione cracked her knuckles, a glint in her eye and a smile on her lips.

"Well boys, let's research."


	24. Chapter 24

Being the expert researcher she was, Hermione had found something within 7 minutes of her reading.

"Look at this, so it says that mates can actually speak through a mind link, but only if they've um..... completed the bond. Have you two...." She stammered, blushing furiously. 

"No 'Mione, we haven't had sex," Harry said, turning the colour of his Gryffindor jersey. 

"Well then," Hermione said, clearing her throat. "Spell it is."

Hermione quickly rifled through a book until she found the page she was looking for 

"There it is," she said, the large tome thudding to the table as Hermione pointed excitedly at something on the ancient pages.

After quickly scanning the page and understanding the nuances of the charm, Hermione practised the charm a few times, on herself and Ron, making her mate go all over the castle to make sure she could cast the spell over longer distances. After she was completely sure she was ready for the real thing, Hermione sat her friend down as she took in a deep breath and goes about casting the spell. 

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Draco blinked his eyes open to his chest covered in blood and his torturer no longer present. He groaned at the pounding in his skull, before sitting up best as he could in his bonds. He looks back down to examine his wounds to see the letters 's' and 'c' on his chest. 

the memories from before he blacked out come flooding back to him as he winces as the pain in his chest intensifies. He sucks in a breath, trying to steady himself when he hears a voice in his head. 

Draco! DRACO! love where are you? I'm coming alright? just hold on babe, I'm on my way!

Draco shakes his head, thinking he was hallucinating from the pain when he heard it again,

"Draco love, can you hear me? Please talk to me, can you tell me where you are?"

"Harry?" Draco tentatively said, trying to get his thoughts across to Harry. 

"Oh my god, darling, I thought I lost you. Could you tell me where you are? I'm coming to get you."

Draco sighed in relief, finally finding some hope for this horror to end. "I don't know where I am, but I think I'm with those people we read about in the newspapers. I'm in an attic and I can sometimes hear people outside, but there are no windows and only one man ever comes in here." 

"Okay dray, 'Mione's gonna cast a tracking spell on you. I'm gonna take some of your stuff for this okay?" the Gryffindor said into Draco's mind.

"yeah sure. I'm waiting, love" The Slytherin said back; waiting impatiently for his rescue.

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Harry ran back to Hermione, informing her of the new developments and telling her that she now had to cast.

"Alright, could you please get me something of Draco's to track him with?" Hermione said, already preparing for the spell. 

"Way ahead of you," Harry said, dropping a couple of the Slytherin's sweaters in front of his friend. 

"Hey thank you so much for doing this, you're a miracle 'Mione," Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

"Harry, you're my best friend. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you." She said before closing her eyes and starting to cast the spell. Both boys waited anxiously, watching as Hermione did her thing. 

In a few minutes, Hermione had Draco's location and the trio was racing towards the Headmistress's office to inform her of the situation. 

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Malfoy heard footsteps from the outside room. Thinking fast and wanting to stay conscious for his mate's arrival, Draco pretended to be out cold. When Alcott walked into the room, Draco held his breath, hoping that he wouldn't sense something amiss.

"Please just walk away. please just walk away. please just walk away." Draco chanted in his head, even as Alcott's footsteps stalked closer and closer.

The man lifted Draco's head up by his blonde hair. Draco swallowed a gasp and kept his body limp. Alcott grunted, dropping the blonde before walking out of the room and slamming the door behind him. 

"come on Harry..."

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Harry, Ron and Hermione somehow coaxed McGonagall to go ahead alone, though she made them take backup with them. Although, backup was going to take a while to muster, so the trio raced ahead to save their newfound friend.

Harry and Ron decided to take their brooms, and for Hermione's fear of them, she chose to take a thestral instead. She knew Draco's exact location, so she flew ahead of both boys. 

It took them a good five minutes for the three of them to get to the place, and when they did, Harry finally let his pent up anger out, letting loose an animalistic growl before he shot both guards with a stunning spell and walked into the building. 

The place where Draco was being held was an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere surrounded entirely by trees. The place had a single road connecting it to civilisation. After checking the area around them for spells (there were none) they chose to land at the back of the warehouse, noticing the two guards upfront and the single guard at the back. When they got a little closer to the ground, Hermione hit the man with a stunning spell and tried to push the door open. Seeing it was spelled shut, she told the boys to take the front door. 

Harry burst into the repository, instantly duelling and taking down 7 guards. His magic was crackling around his frame, sparks of electricity running up and down his arms and legs. He hadn't even realised that his wand was still in his pocket. He was magic personified, every spell he was casting was completely nonverbal and wandless. He stormed the place, taking down person after person, his fury alike to that of the gods themselves. 

He destroyed room after room looking for his mate, his rage mounting every time he came up empty-handed. Suddenly he remembered Draco saying that he was up in an attic somewhere. Immediately, he ran up to the very top of the warehouse, taking down whoever so much as crossed his path. 

Finally, he found himself standing at the threshold of a long, narrow corridor; leading to a lone metal door at the end of it. He ran towards it, blasting the door off its hinges to find himself looking at an unconscious, and very beaten up Draco.


	25. Chapter 25

Harry's heart stopped in his chest as he beheld the sight before him. His beautiful mate, tied to a chair all bruised and bloody. Unconscious. He gasped, running to the blond, skidding to a stop on his knees and he gently cut the Slytherin free. 

Draco groaned, trying to lift his head, to no avail. 

"Shhhh love, it's alright. I'm here now." Harry whispered, caressing his mate's cheek. He was trying so very hard to keep his voice steady and keep his tears at bay. 

He took in Draco from head to toe. A dark, murderous fury started roiling in his gut, his magic sparking up and down his silhouette repeatedly. He saw the dark blue bruises on Draco's ivory skin, the gruesome patchwork continuing all the way down his torso, not to mention the cruel, jagged letters on his chest. His beautiful mate was still covered in his own blood. His one-white shirt was hanging in tatters around his thin figure. 

Harry shoved away the anger with a grim force, using his magic to heal Draco as much as he could, casting a cleaning charm over him before taking off the scraps of fabric on his body. The Gryffindor ripped apart his own shirt for a makeshift bandage before covering his mate in his Gryffindor red quidditch jersey. At the end of it all, Harry was standing there in a ripped shirt and robes carrying his mate in his arms, kissing his alabaster forehead repeatedly. 

He walked out of the room, swiftly finding Hermione and Ron the former casting various healing spells on the unconscious boy before they flew back to Hogwarts castle. As they left, the backup McGonagall had sent for them was rounding up the stunned bodies and other members who were hiding in other parts of the vast depository. 

Once back at Hogwarts, Draco was immediately rushed to the hospital wing. Put under Madam Pomfrey's care as soon as possible. She commended Hermione's spell work as she fussed around the blond, offering to teach the witch other medical spells if she was interested. Hermione, being Hermione, immediately accepted the offer, watching curiously as Madam Pomfrey gave the pale boy a few potions, waving her wand over his unconscious body. 

All three kids were exhausted and Hermione and Ron decided to retreat to their dorms, both hugging their friend tightly before they left. Harry, though debilitated, refused to leave his boyfriend's side, asking somebody to get him a change of clothes before falling asleep next to Dracos bed in a chair, utterly spent. 

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**Christmas day**

Draco groaned softly, dreaming that he was sleeping in his cosy bed, Harry's large warm hand curled around his. His mate's scent enveloped him, cinnamon and wood, even as he forced himself to remember his reality, Alcott and his cruel words and his wicked spells. At the thought of the vile man, Draco awoke gasping. It took him a few seconds to process where he was and what had transpired the previous night. 

His head was a whirl of colour and feeling as he looked around himself to see Harry curled up on a chair, his fingers tightly intertwined with Draco's own. The blond took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. 

Once his breath was coming in long, even bursts, Draco looked over to his mate sleeping peacefully in a small comfy chair. He smiled softly and ran his fingers through Harry's soft hair as he remembered how much he had missed it when he was locked away with Alcott. 

The boy who lived- it seemed- was a light sleeper, no sooner had Draco pushed his fingers into his mate's hair that the boy in question jerked awake reaching for his wand. He looked around him to see Draco looking at him. He let out a strangled sob as he tackled the blond in a hug, sending them both sprawling onto Draco's bed. 

Draco laughed softly, bringing his hands up to bury them in Harry's hair. Draco nosed at Harry's neck breathing him in. The Slytherin's hands skirted over his boyfriend as if to ascertain if he was real. 

"Harry," Draco whispered, as he buried his face into Harry's sweater, a sob fighting its way out of his throat; unable to fully process the fact that he was safe.

"you're okay now. I'm right here. You're so brave love, I love you so much." Harry said the tears he was fighting clear in his voice.

The Gryffindor pulled away from Draco with some difficulty only to lean back in to kiss him gently.

"Madam Pomfrey said you could probably leave today, but that I should go and get her when you're awake. So... wait for me?" Harry said, smiling sheepishly as he climbed out of bed and straightened his clothes.

"Yeah, sure!" Draco grinned, squeezing Harry's hand as he walked away.

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In a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey had confirmed that Draco had fully recovered and was good to go. Harry practically squealed as he ran back to get his mate. He and Draco were done in a jiffy, and they both stepped out of the hospital wing with their arms around each other. 

As they neared their room, though, Harry's pace slowed drastically, as he slowed to a slothlike velocity, dragging Draco absentmindedly to other parts of the castle.

"Darling are you quite alright? Our bedroom's this way." The blond laughed, putting his arm around the shorter boy's waist to lead him the right way. 

Harry gulped. "Yeah, I'm alright, but... Okay, Draco? I think it would be better if you just waited here for a few seconds. Okay?"

Draco laughed. "Why didn't yo just tell me, you idiot? Obviously I'll wait. Go do whatever you were gonna. 

Harry laughed and kissed Draco on the cheek, skipping ahead of him. "I'll be back to get you!"

"I'm sure you will!"

Harry walked into the bedroom he and Draco shared, letting out a shaky breath, studying the decor.

The room was decked out completely. It was like walking into a winter wonderland, the headboards and the doorways decorated with conifer leaf tinsel and fairy lights. Baubles in rich shades of red, silver, gold and green were enchanted to float around the room. The bay windows were all piled with presents. It looked like Christmas had thrown up all over the room— in the best was possible— and after Harry deemed the room up to his—high— standards, he loosed a breath and walked over to fetch Malfoy.


	26. Chapter 26

When Harry walked over to the place he left Draco, the boy in question was nowhere to be found. Panic rising in his throat, he whipped his head around, looking for the snowy hair he could recognize from a mile away. It was nowhere to be seen. 

"Draco!" Harry screamed, his wand already in his hands.

"Yes love?" a silky voice purred. 

Harry turned around to find himself face to face with Draco who was standing over him, smirking as he bit into an apple. 

"Damn boy, don't run away like that," Harry said, shoving Draco playfully. "Anyway, let's go!" He held out his arm for the Slytherin, grinning coyly, watching his mate blush. Draco slipped his arm into Harry's as the Gryffindor led them back to their dorm. When they were standing in the doorway, Harry stopped his mate.

"Wait! Put this on." He said, handing Draco a blindfold. Perplexed, Draco looked at Harry's emerald eyes and shrugged, trusting his boyfriend completely, he tied the fabric around his eyes, tensing slightly at the dark. He jumped a little when he felt Harry's hand brush his, but relaxed immediately, twining their fingers together.

He heard Harry open the door, leading him inside. He heard Harry shuffling his feet nervously before he took in a deep breath and said,

"Okay, you can take it off now."

Draco made quick work of the knot he had tied. As his eyes took in the room, his jaw went slack, arms hanging limply by his sides. He took his time, soaking in every inch of the space before turning around on his heel to find his boyfriend on a knee, holding up a small box.

Draco gasped softly, his hands shaking as they covered his lips. Harry grinned, a slight sheen of apprehension covering his bewitching eyes as he cleared his throat and began;

"Draco, I know it hasn't been too long that we know each other, but you fill up my heart. You never stopped believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself. I know our relationship has been a strange one, what with our rivalry and all, but you make the happiest person alive. If Voldemort is what I had to get through to get you, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat, no question. You are what my dreams are made of Draco Lucius Malfoy. I know it may seem as though this is too early for us to get married, but we can wait however long you want, we could get married now, or after we finish school or even ten years after that, but I want to be able to call you mine, no matter what. You are my reason Draco. So, say what? will you marry me?" harry finished, smirking his irresistible smirk up at his mate as he waited for him to reply.

Draco looked down at this beautiful man before him, down on one knee, asking to have his hand in marriage. He didn't know what he had done to deserve somebody as perfect as this, but he damn well wasn't going to let go of him.

"Yes." he gasped, "yes, yes, _YES!"_ his fingers trembling violently as he threaded them through Harry's hair, pulling him up to kiss him. 

The kiss they shared was sweet and lingering, both boys savouring every second of it. Harry's hands slipped under Draco's shirt, gliding over his waist, tracing the shape of his spine, skating over his wingbone. His restless hands eventually settled, one on Draco's waist and the other caressing the soft, ivory hair at the nape of his neck. 

Draco put every ounce of feeling he had into the kiss, running his fingers through Harry's hair, his fingers refusing to stay still, slipping carefully under the Gryffindor's sweater, exploring every nook and cranny, every muscle, every single inch of warm, tan skin, as Harry giggled into the kiss, picking up the blond and spinning him around with euphoria, their lips never parting.

They finally broke for air, resting their foreheads together, their breaths mingling. Both boys breathless and delighted, their lips kiss swollen and turned up into matching grins.

"I love you so much you don't even know." Harry breathed, his fingers brushing Draco's cheekbones. He pulled away slightly, bringing up his other hand to cup Draco's face, holding him as though he were the most precious thing in the universe, smiling at him with awe and reverence. 

Harry kissed him again, slow and lingering. "What did I do to deserve you?" he murmured against Draco's mouth.

Draco kissed him again, Hard and passionate,

"Everything love,

"Everything."


End file.
